You don't know Jack
by Binkley
Summary: Evil genius Jack Spicer has wanted to take over the world since he turned evil at the age of nine. After years of dealing with witches, monks, sentient plants and other assorted mystic nonsense, Jack is finally ready to start conquering, starting with the world of business. Now if only things would stop exploding.
1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful day in the suburbs of small town America. The birds twitted their songs as children played in the park, the perfect image of peace and happiness that masked the true evil that dwelled there. For in the basement of one of the nicer homes lived the greatest villain on earth.

Jack Spicer Evil Genius!

"Ah, you say the sweetest things Narratorbot 2.0." Said a voice from within the chassis of a silver robot with a smiling face.

The one speaking was only the size of a grain of rice but had no trouble darting nimbly through the air with tiny helicopter blades that sprouted from a device on his back. Loud music played as the tiny man worked on his creation. He grinned happily wielding a blowtorch with the ease of an artist with a paintbrush as he made the final adjustments to the circuitry within the silver machine.

A rectangular bronze panel swung open from the chest of the contraption and the tiny man buzzed out growing as he exited his latest project until he reached his true height of just under six feet. He towered over the robot which had only moments before been large enough to house him.

The suddenly full-sized man was seventeen with a pale white face that contrasted with dark welder's goggles and hair so red as to be obviously unnatural. He wore a black lab coat with a red undershirt, black pants and sturdy steel toed boots. Strapped to his back was a flight pack that secured itself on his chest with a skull shaped clasp.

In a burst of movement, he swept the device into an enthusiastic hug.

"Who needs Wuya when I have my robots!" he exclaimed loudly as he held out his creation which dangled loosely in his grip.

"Jack Spicer Evil Genius!" the robot repeated without true understanding.

Jack frowned slightly before reaching into a hidden lab coat pocket and retrieved a glowing red chip. "One second, let me turn on your brain." Jack muttered as he placed the chip on the back of the machine's head. The metal sprung to life unfolding to latch onto the chip and draw it into itself. The previously empty eyes lit with the glow of intelligent life.

"I'm gonna call you Phil." Jack said with pride as he inspected the newly alive Phil.

The metal face of Phil rippled with movement as he looked back at Jack, the previously fixed smile changed and the formerly doll like face moved with expressions like that of a human. "What am I?" Phil spoke in a slow measured voice.

"My Assistant." Jack stated simply as Phil wobbled getting his balance for the first time. "A lot of research went into making you." Jack said, waggling his finger for emphasis "All the finest features from my years of robotics research went into your design, you should be very proud." Jack announced grabbing Phil's shoulders and ushering him away from the station upon which he was built.

"What does that mean?" Phil spoke in a smooth tone as he adjusted to speaking for the first time, even as he nodded in acknowledgment of what Jack said.

"I have made many robots over the years and of all of them you are the strongest, the fastest, the smartest." Jack grinned. "I have given you chameleon technology that will allow you to alter your physical appearance at will and adaptable intelligence that will let you improve and learn as you encounter new challenges." Jack finished with a flourish.

"That is very informative," Phil said his head tilting to the side as he considered his creator. "but what exactly do you want me to do?" questioned the genuinely curious newborn.

"For now, you need to study and learn to be the very best assistant you can be, and then," the young genius's tone got more intense as he focused on his creation. "You are going to help me take over the world." Jack said his eyes burrowing into Phil's.

Phil considered what his creator had told him for a moment before he nodded in understanding. "How am I supposed to do that?" Phil accepted.

As if waiting for those words Jack grabbed Phil's shoulder with one hand and stuck his other into one of his many pockets retrieving a pair of chopsticks. The metal man watched in interest as Jack did something that caused both the creation and his creator to shrink down to less than an inch in height. The world looked so different now that he was small, but Phil did not have much time to adjust as Jack pulled him over to a panel on the floor that, upon Jack's prodding, opened to reveal an elevator which he followed his creator into.

"I lifted the elevator from a mall before it was demolished." Supplied Jack. "The others underestimate just how useful the ability to shrink things is."

"Others?" Queried Phil as the doors closed and a soft relaxing music filtered into the small room through a speaker in the ceiling. "No wait, how am I supposed to assist you?" Phil got back to the important question.

"I'll tell you that when we get to the bottom." Jack put off. "In order to explain the others, I have to tell you a bit about myself, you see a few years ago when I was only just getting started building robots that do more than bump into each other, I met a ghost witch." Phil nodded to show he was listening. "See my strength has always been in building things so when Wuya, that's the witch's name, told me about how collecting magic items called Sheng Gong Wu would help me take over the world, I was a little skeptical. I mean I had spent my entire life tinkering with machines so chasing magic trinkets seemed like starting over, but she was persuasive, so I took a squad of Jackbots and hunted down some magic." Jack paused in his story as he refocused to make sure Phil was paying attention. "It was better than I could possibly have imagined. The coin itself was interesting, kind of less than I was hoping for considering Wuya had said it would help me take over the world, but the fight, oh the fight was more fun than I had ever had before. These four kids dressed in pajamas flew down on a size changing dragon before challenging me to a duel that warped reality for the sole purpose of making a race more interesting. I lost the showdown but what I gained was much more valuable. I immediately began research into magic and the strides I have made since that day have been enormous." The speaker pinged as Jack finished speaking and the doors slid open.

Phil no longer felt like he had shrunken down. He followed his creator into a sprawling laboratory, filled with a variety of machines one of which was cranking out many identical bronze floating robots on an assembly line while another had a cube that was increasing in size, just as the cube seemed about to hit the ceiling it stopped and began to shrink.

"Welcome to my hidden lab." Revealed the pale man. "This is where the magic happens. I reverse engineer the magic of the Wu and incorporate it into my tech. Using the principles I learned from studying the energy of the Wu I was able to mimic their effects. Growing and shrinking, physical enhancement, super speed, and so much more. Here is a list of all the projects in the works. Read it whenever." Jack tossed a stack of papers at his new assistant who fumbled for a moment before securing the pages.

Phil glanced at the paper and found he was able to read the words easily. As he flipped through the pages reading like he had been told, a buzzing came from one of Jack's devices. It was a rectangle with four directional arrows and it was vibrating.

"This detects bursts of magic." Informed Jack waving the toy like device around casually. "Looks like it's time to go play with my frenemies, you read that and make yourself at home, the wireless password is evilgenius." Jack said over his shoulder as helicopter blades sprouted from his pack and he flew towards a hole in the ceiling ignoring the elevator they had taken down.

A call of Jackbots had a group of the bronze constructs floating after him, leaving the silver robot standing alone in Jack's Lab.

Phil started reading.


	2. Chapter 2

Among those who hunted the Sheng Gong Wu were skilled warriors that could control the elements, an ancient witch whose full power could reshape the world, a dragon man whose great skill and experience allowed him to dominate all the others and an assortment of strange and dangerous characters all of whom could beat Jack in a fight. Jack knew he was not as strong as everyone else hunting the Wu. This did not matter because he didn't care about owning most of the mystical trinkets. From the first day Wuya had shown him the world of magic the Wu were only a means to an end. Jack treated the entire thing like a game even helping his enemies if it looked like the Heylin side was getting close to actually causing ten thousand years of darkness.

That was something that annoyed jack about the Heylin, he wanted to rule but most of the bad guys wanted to throw the world into eternal darkness, which seemed kind of dumb. Sure, he played his part as the villain but after Wuya conquered the world the first time leaving him in the dust he had abandoned collecting the Wu seriously.

Saving the world from Wuya left a bad taste in his mouth, he had even been forced to reveal his time machine to the monks which was promptly destroyed setting the genius's work back months. He had been hiding his better inventions from both the monks and Wuya ever since he first got the changing chopsticks. It didn't really matter now as she had abandoned him for Chase Young not long ago and gotten her body back, though without the crazy powers. He was lonely without the awful hag, and despite her beauty she would always be a hag to Jack. He had even tried joining with the good guys for a short time, but it didn't work out. It was probably for the best anyway heroes didn't get to conquer the world.

Everyone on the sides of the Heylin and the Xiaolin thought that Jack was incompetent. Jack was surprised that they fell for it. Sure, he acted like an idiot and lost out on collecting Wu because he wanted to do something fun like shoot a movie or have an evil monologue, but when you examined some of the things Jack made it put the lie to that.

When he needed to win he won.

See, Jack knew that he would never be able to hold any of the truly powerful Wu if the others all decided to team up against him, he just wasn't physically powerful enough. He didn't train to be a great fighter all day everyday like the monks or Chase because he used that time to tinker on his machines. So instead Jack kept enough of the Wu that were often overlooked like the Monkeystaff or the Ring of Nine Dragons to keep him in the game and every time he got his hands on a powerful Wu he would attack the monks ultimately losing the Wu but having a great time in the process.

In the meantime, every Wu he got his hands on had been scanned and their effects studied to see what he could reproduce. His biggest success was with the Changing Chopsticks. By examining the energy and being inspired by the work of Dr. Pym, he had succeeded in reproducing the effects of the chopsticks with only technology. The only problem was he couldn't significantly shrink organic material without it exploding.

Oh well, he would get there.

His latest breakthrough was Phil. He had high hopes for his latest creation. By studying the effects of the heart of Jong he was able to create a basic growing neural network that was the basis for a new kind of artificial intelligence that would leave his previous efforts in the dust.

Jack followed his magic tracker to where the new Wu had revealed itself and found himself on a snowy mountain. He set out his Jack-bots to begin searching for the Wu.

The red headed genius put much less effort into the floating robots than he used to. He knew that they would probably all be destroyed by the end of the day after all and Jack followed the old betting rule. Never gamble with something you aren't willing to lose.

It looked like he arrived first, good news he would have time to set up his gimmick before the others showed up. He pulled out a handheld device, pushed a button and another Jack appeared before him. The first Jack grinned as he put a hand through the hologram's body meeting no resistance. Jack then pressed another button and vanished. He walked invisibly rendering several of the Jackbots invisible as he passed them.

The sound of fighting drew Jack's attention as he spotted a giant green dragon getting punched in the face by Chase Young. Omi, a short yellow guy, jumped in to fight Chase while the others engaged Wuya and, huh Panda Bubba, that was unusual. Bubba looked smug as he directed his minions to attack Clay and Kimiko with the Tangle Web Comb and the Mind Reader Conch, while he held a familiar looking metal rectangle. It was the original model of the magic detector that Jack had stopped using when he had finished his latest design.

"Hey why do you have my old Wu detector!" Jack shouted. Panda Bubba's head shot to look for Jack, his eyes landing on the hologram rather than his true position.

"You should keep better track of your toys Jack." The large man gloated waving Jack's stolen device mockingly. "Especially valuable toys like this one. I thought that spying on your junkheap of a lab would be pointless but even you occasionally make something worth stealing. This is worth a small fortune."

Bubba bared his teeth in what could only technically be called a smile. He was obviously challenging Jack to attack him, but he couldn't without giving away that he was invisible, he even had to be careful about talking so that Bubba wouldn't realize that his hologram wasn't the one making the sound. Jack would have to stand behind his illusion if he wanted to speak without giving the game away.

"A small fortune you say." Jack said instead of rising to the challenge. He was angry at the violation of his home but really that was the reason he had hidden his real lab in the first place. "How small of a fortune are we talking?"

Bubba's fierce smile melted into a more businesslike grin as he considered the question. "Not many people know about the Shen Gong Wu so the market is empty but there was no way for anyone to track the Wu save for the witch and the dragon so for anyone interested in the Wu this device is quite valuable indeed. Provided you don't mind the competition." Bubba bared his teeth again. "Which I do."

The large man charged at the hologram of Jack which nimbly dodged out of the way of everything Bubba threw at it. This looked exactly like how Jack always fought and because the feeble engineer rarely attacked without the use of a Wu it seemed like a perfectly normal Jack fight while real Jack slipped away towards the Shen Gong Wu that Omi and Chase had found while fighting. The two were keeping each other from reaching the prize so he crept up to the Wu while they were busy. Meanwhile, the visible Jackbots were fighting Bubba for holoJack and the invisible Jackbots had snuck up on his minions waiting for a moment of distraction to strike.

Jack moved to take the Wu from where it was sitting clearly visible on an outcropping of rock, but just as he was reaching out to seize his prize, a kick from Chase Young launched him back breaking the invisibility and unveiling Jack to everyone there while the holojack vanished. In that moment where everyone's attention was on Chase and Jack, his invisible bots struck knocking out Bubba's minions and taking their Wu before invisibly retreating.

"You make too much noise as you move Jack." Chase scolded the suddenly nervous redhead.

"Jack Spicer! when did you steal the Shroud of Shadows? It should be back at the temple, You fiend!" shouted Omi which Jack took as a chance to regain his composure.

"Ha!" barked Jack. "This is no mere Wu, this is my new cloaking device paired with the hologram projector this is the ultimate in stealth technology." He bragged, quickly adjusting to no longer having to keep quiet.

"No matter how great the tool, it is useless in the hands of a buffoon." Chase cut, causing the expressive would be world conqueror to fall to his knees crying in exaggerated shock.

He probably wouldn't be getting the Wu today, not if he was competing against both Chase and Omi. That didn't mean he wouldn't gain from this anyway as Omi leapt towards the Wu and Chase moved to intercept him. When Jack moved to do the same he was kicked away again, this time by Omi.

"Not today Jack Spicer this is between me and Chase Young." Omi shouted while the world twisted for the showdown. Jack set one of his bots to record everything that happened while he sat back and watched a surprisingly even fight between the two warriors.

This was the part Jack enjoyed most. Everyone who had been fighting just moments ago stopped and crowded together cheering for whichever side they chose. If it weren't for the fantastical nature of the showdown he could almost believe he was at a normal sporting event with friends. Over the years his relationship with the monks had lost its hostility and while it wasn't friendly he could talk to them in these moments of neutrality. At least he could before his failed attempt to join the Xiaolin side had soured relations with the good guys, Omi in particular. He didn't feel like talking to Wuya either who was cheering enthusiastically for Chase. As he watched an increasingly violent snowball fight the evil inventor found himself chatting with Panda Bubba.

"That cloaking technology you have is quite amazing." The yakuza said leadingly. "I have had your home monitored for months and I never had a clue you had anything like it." The panda man raised an eyebrow inquisitively while examining the broken device.

As upsetting as the idea was that his house was being observed by members of the yakuza Jack didn't feel surprised. Panda Bubba was a shrewd man who would take advantage of any opportunity to further his own goals. It would be a huge danger if the crime boss even suspected that the genius had far more than just cloaking technology hidden from sight. The inventor needed to throw the panda off his scent.

"Oh, I know a guy." Lied Jack with ease, his conversation partner perked at the words not bothering to hide his curiosity. "I would be very interested in meeting the man who made such a thing. Such devices could make a person very wealthy." Insisted the criminal.

"He isn't really into the whole criminal thing." deflected the pale young man weakly. "He doesn't really know that I'm evil."

The large man fixed his sight on Jack intently the silence stretching on for an uncomfortable few moments. The red head fidgeted under the scrutiny of the intimidating man.

"I will be meeting this man he will bring his cloaking technology, and we will discuss business." The crime boss demanded handing Jack a business card. "I am staying here for the next three days, either I receive a visit, or I will be visiting you Mr. Spicer." The threat hung in the air as Jack pocketed the card and considered his options.

"Yeah sure, no need to get all menacing." Surrendered the inventor. "Just try and keep the whole crime boss thing under wraps."

"I assure you I know how to deal in legal assets." Assured the criminal. "What is the name of this mystery inventor?" Bubba asked much more agreeably now that Jack was doing what he wanted.

"Mr. Smith will be there in three days." Jack supplied. Bubba's mouth quirked up at the name in a slight smirk. The young man sighed internally knowing that the older man suspected that there was no Mr. Smith. Oh well the damage was done, and Jack would just have to deal with it.

The snowball fight had been escalating for some time and though Omi performed well Chase was just a little better at every turn. A little faster, a little stronger, a little more skilled. Chase was dangling victory in front of Omi's face to make him achieve more than he ever had before. Huh, Jack realized. Chase was messing with Omi's head trying to make him stronger. That was interesting but not his problem. Jack had an evil panda to deal with.

Chase won the showdown taking a moment to mock Omi before leaving with Wuya. While the monks were distracted fussing over the cheeseball, Jack took the opportunity to leave as well. He tossed the Wu his bots had stolen earlier into a bag and flew away. As he made his way home, the evil genius laughed as he realized he never even learned the name of the Wu everyone had been hunting.


	3. Chapter 3

A manic energy had overtaken the mad inventor by the time he had reached his home. He strode with purpose up the walk past his mother's flower garden that was lovingly trimmed, by Marco the landscape guy, every Thursday morning and into the perfectly maintained door. The inside of the house was just as perfectly kept as the outside with not a single sign that anyone lived there, like something out of a catalogue. Jack took no note of this as he made his way to the only part of the house he could feel comfortable in. He paused only for a moment to read a letter on the basement door. He tossed the note into the bin after the first line. It always said the same thing. His mother had gone on vacation somewhere and wouldn't be back for a while.

The basement was as Panda Bubba described it, a junkheap, just the way Jack liked it. Busted machines piled on workbenches and loose wires that sparked dangerously filled the room. Half built projects lay abandoned, littering the floor making navigation difficult for those who weren't as intimately familiar with the layout as Jack was. Dark walls added a menacing effect to the area while a thumping music began playing to greet the returning master.

A wide smile split Jacks face as he returned to his place of power, but he did not pause and instead drew the Changing Chopsticks with a flourish shrinking down so that he could use the flight entrance into his miniature laboratory. The place really was small when you weren't shrunk down. As large as the thing felt while you were inside of it the minilab was only six square feet and three inches tall. The hyper dense metal that made the shell of the minilab could be blasted with a cannon and not leave a scratch, anyone inside probably wouldn't even notice.

Jack opened a tiny latch in the floor and flew down into his lab. The elevator was comfortable, but flying was so much faster. One of the benefits of working while shrunken was the effect it had on his body. The effect was drastic when the workspace was scaled down to match. The lab was only six feet long but proportionally it was the size of a football field. Normally Jack would be exhausted if he had to sprint from one end of a football field to another but in his shrunken form he could run from one end of the lab to the other in seconds. He could lift things many times larger than himself and manipulate metal with his bare hands. He got work done so much faster when he worked in the minilab.

"Welcome home Mr. Spicer." The steady sound of a familiar voice clashed with the sight of a man Jack had never seen before. Dressed in an immaculate suit and perfectly coiffed hair the man radiated professionalism.

"Looking good Phil, how are you progressing?" the formerly silver robot smiled as he responded. "I finished reading your reports of all active experiments and proceeded to use the information gathering device Google to find all the requirements and responsibilities needed to be an assistant. Most employment sites stipulated that I would need at least two years of experience, but I hope to get started right away. I have designed this body from thousands of images to be the ideal assistant." Jacks creation made and elegant sweeping motion gesturing to his body as he told his new boss about his day. "I know it will be a long road ahead, but I shall endeavor to be the greatest assistant in the world." Phil's voice was crisp and pleasant.

"That's wonderful Phil, did you have any questions about the lab?" Jack was ecstatic, Phil was coherent intelligent and not showing any signs of traitorousness. This growth should be encouraged.

"I don't understand how most of this stuff works." Phil admitted without shame. Looking around at the dozens of work stations all with their own specialized purposes.

"That will come with time, for now I have work to do." That was true he had to prepare for his meeting with Panda Bubba. This could go poorly if Jack wasn't careful, Bubba had a habit of betraying anyone he worked with but that could be countered by preparing beforehand.

Bubba wanted to get his hands on what he thought was cloaking technology but was part of something more. The hologram technology was something Jack had created as part of his project to create a better cellphone. When he had started, his plan had been to design, mass produce and sell a device that could not only fit in your pocket and make holographic real time phone calls but also outperform most commercially sold laptops, making a splash and cementing his name onto the wider world. The military applications of his cloaking technology were a welcome bonus but unfortunately would mark Jack as a target for some very powerful people who would want to control him. That was exactly what Panda Bubba would do if Jack wasn't careful.

There were so many things that needed the genius's attention that it was hard to focus on any one project. There were his many types of robots, studies into how to use magic, weapons research, designing products that could be sold to the public, and that was not even considering all the things he made just for fun, but for the next two days he would be focusing on three things.

There was a Wu that Jack possessed that allowed him to split his focus and work on multiple things at once. The others avoided it because of the detrimental effects of splitting one's attention in too many directions, but after much experimentation Jack found he could use the Ring of Nine Dragons to make a single copy of himself and still function at peak capacity with only slight alterations in personality. A calmer Jack was working towards his master's degree in electrical engineering at MIT and so far, he was at the top his class. He would have to take the weekend off from schoolwork, but this was an opportunity he could not miss.

The first thing he would need is a non-villainous identity who could keep the attention of the big players of weapons manufacturing like Stark or Hammer Industries away from Jack at least until he was too influential to easily get rid of. He had already told Bubba that the person who had invented the cloaking technology was Mr. Smith so this would be a great test run. The genius didn't have time to make an intelligent Mr. Smith robot, and Phil didn't have the experience for something like this just yet, so Jack would have to do it himself.

Altering his appearance was not a difficult task for the genius. He already used cosmetics to get the appearance he had now. Without the hair dye and makeup Jack could pass for just another face in the crowd. He could use the size changing technology to grow a few inches and suddenly he was a completely different person. Jack wouldn't stop there of course, Mr. Smith needed to be his own person instead of just not Jack Spicer. Phil was very helpful when it came time designing a personality and appearance for the fake person they were making. His robotic assistant made an expensive looking business suit out of the same material that allowed Chameleon technology to function. This not only made Jack look like a high-powered executive but also doubled as a power suit to give Mr. Smith some punch in case Panda Bubba tried anything. He wouldn't be fighting Chase Young with it, but every little bit helps. He would need to add an accessory, maybe a hat or a cane, but so far Mr. Smith looked downright respectable.

Next the inventor worked on his security. He needed a way to keep Bubba from betraying him or at least beating him down if he tried. His normal Jack-bots were both too identifiable and too weak to use but he had other designs that would work. Jack used cheap material and an assembly line to make the robots that were destroyed by the dozen on a weekly basis, but they weren't the only robots he had. The genius had long ago created four humanlike machines with the intention that they would fight evenly with the monks. He had made them with strong materials and programmed them each individually with their own fighting styles to cover the others' weaknesses. A significant amount of time and resources went into making them and unfortunately by the time they were finished the monks had begun controlling the elements and using some ridiculous new powers. The genius knew if he sent his robots against the xiaolin warriors he might win one showdown, but they would inevitably be destroyed, and all that time and effort would have been wasted. This was the perfect time to use them. It wouldn't be hard to dress them up enough to pass for regular human bodyguards, though they wouldn't be able to speak. Maybe ninjas? He would think about it.

The hardest part was going to be getting Panda Bubba not to betray whatever deal they ended up making. Jack knew magical ways to force someone to obey a contract, but he himself didn't naturally have any magic power. Working with Wuya for years had given Jack a better understanding of how to use magic than probably even the monks. Jack had even used magic himself when he had utilized an artifact called the sphere of Yun to steal Chase Young's power. He had enforced the contracts Chase used on his cat warriors and even understood how the process worked. The other party had to know what the stakes were and agree to them in order for the magic to take hold. Chase did this by challenging warriors to fights with high stakes, and when he beat his opponent their own energy worked against them to enforce the contract along with Chase's. The actual process itself wasn't magically intensive and surprisingly Chase Young did not have very much magic at his disposal, well not compared to someone like Wuya anyway.

Collecting magic power wasn't impossible for the inventor. There was xiaolin energy, heylin energy, Chi that came from the body or could be drawn from the world, energy that was generated from emotions or other dimensions and that was before he even got to the Wu. He could charge that energy into magic batteries for use as power sources, but the problem was that power wasn't his. When he had sealed Chase in the sphere of Yun the energy he used had a distinctly Jack Spicer feel to it and because of that he could control it directly using only his will power. What he needed now was to make a filter that would turn the magic energy he collected into Jack Spicer energy he could control directly. Jack had only the faintest of ideas on how to accomplish that, but he had two days to figure it out. Time to prove that he was a genius.


	4. Chapter 4

At noon on the third day after Panda Bubba demanded to meet the mysterious Mr. Smith, Phil drove them to the meeting spot Jack had arranged with the crime lord which turned out to be a high end Chinese restaurant. It seemed Bubba took his warning that Mr. Smith wasn't a criminal seriously and this was going to be a normal business lunch.

Phil had settled on slightly older features taking his position as Mr. Smith's assistant seriously, he had a finely pressed butler's uniform hazel eyes and neatly combed black hair that had just the slightest hint of gray, to get a dignified look. No one would mistake who was of higher station between the duo as Phil opened the car door and Mr. Smith stepped out. Standing at six feet four inches the disguised Spicer was dressed in the elegant business suit that Phil had tailored out of Chameleon metal that stayed pristine no matter the situation. In his hand was clasped a metallic cane with a red grip that fit his larger hand comfortably. To finish off his look the genius wore a shiny top hat that raised his already considerable new height to an even seven feet. Jack felt powerful as Mr. Smith as he strode with Phil into the restaurant. They were led by a cheerful blonde woman in a Chinese dress to a table that had high walls that blocked the view of the rest of the building allowing for the patrons to chat in relative privacy. The yakuza boss was present already waiting for his arrival. Jack sat across from the criminal while Phil settled unobtrusively at his side.

"Welcome Mr. Smith." Jovially greeted one of Hong Kong's most influential criminals. "I hope you don't mind I took the liberty of ordering for the table." At his words a host of servers appeared from seemingly nowhere filling the table with a mouthwatering variety of cuisine. A small white cup materialized in front of the disguised genius and Panda Bubba lifted a sake bottle invitingly, the inventor nodded in assent while Phil declined politely, and they began sampling the truly excellent meal.

"I don't mean to impose but when I saw an example of your fascinating cloaking technology I set out to learn more about you and I couldn't find anything. Why for a time I was convinced that young Jack had made you up entirely trying to cover up that it was he who behind the whole thing, though it is unlike him not to take credit for his work. Why I don't know anything about you, not even your first name so I think it is time for some proper introductions." Bubba said with a friendly voice. "I am Panda Bubba an entrepreneur and businessman, and I asked you here to discuss a mutually profitable business arrangement." Bubba trailed off his introduction waiting for the man across from him to follow suit.

"My name is Jacob Smith, and this is my assistant Philip Irons, the reason you were unable to uncover anything about me is very simple, there is nothing to find. In the legal sense of the word I don't exist." Jacob revealed in a low tone as he sipped from the sake the criminal had poured for him. "Due to the nature of my work I have had to avoid some very unpleasant people, so you can imagine my surprise when a promising engineering student I know came to me recently insisting that I have a meeting with the crime boss of Panda Town." The genius let his lips turn up slightly at the flash of surprise on Bubba's face. "You didn't think you were the first to realize the vast potential of a device that can produce holograms and fit in your pocket. This is potentially world changing technology. If that change is for good or ill depends on who controls it. So, Mr. Bubba what is it that you are trying to accomplish?" Jacob Smith demanded as he meet the gaze of the crime boss who had lost some of his previous friendliness.

The genius could tell that Bubba was reassessing him, the moment stretched on and he had to keep himself from fidgeting under the weight of the criminal's gaze. The backstory for Mr. Smith wasn't a very strong one, basically Jack had decided not to explain anything. The inventor took this approach for a couple reasons. The first was the more complicated the lie the more likely it was to be found out, and the second was Jack figured there was a good chance Panda Bubba would simply see through his disguise. Jack could deal with Bubba if he was found out, but it would be inconvenient. The real people this disguise was for were the ones who he couldn't handle with a liberal application of attackbots. This was perhaps the most dangerous stage of Jack's career as he graduated from minor player to a legitimate threat. The inventor could easily see himself being snatched by someone like HYDRA or SHIELD and thrown into a pit somewhere never to see daylight again. He grimaced at the thought and returned his attention to the danger in front of him instead of future threats.

"What I want is what all businessmen want Mr. Smith. Money, power, influence and the means to acquire these things. What I see here is opportunity, the things one could accomplish with personalized stealth technology is immense. A single squad of invisible agents would make a man unstoppable." Frankly stated the crime boss. "The only real question is what you want for it. I am a very powerful man, Mr. Smith, in exchange for a dozen of your devices I can make things happen." Bubba poured more sake into the disguised Jack's cup as he finished speaking.

Taking a sip from the cup Jack considered what to say next. He could supply a dozen cloaking devices easily enough, but he knew that Bubba wouldn't stop at a mere dozen. This was only the beginning.

"I find I tire of not existing." Jack set his cup down and folded his hands together in a contemplative gesture. "I will supply you with the devices you desire and in exchange you will provide for me a legitimate identity a manufacturing facility in that identity's name and 20 tons of copper." Greed sparked in the criminal's eyes as he listened to Jack speak.

"Done." Agreed the powerful man as if the requests were simple and perhaps to him they were though Jack doubted it. "There is a textile factory not far from here that will made ready for your use, your new identity as well as the shipment of copper will be ready within the week. I assume you want to keep the name Jacob Smith?" The genius nodded his head in agreement. "Then we are in agreement when can I be expecting my purchase?" pushed the crime boss.

"A week will be sufficient, in seven days I will bring the cloaking devices to the factory and our business will be concluded." Jack and Bubba raised their glasses sealing the arrangement.

"Don't disappoint me Mr. Smith." Bubba ended the pleasant atmosphere as Jack stood to leave, Phil handing him his hat and cane.

"I will follow through on my end Mr. Bubba, don't betray me or the zoo will find itself with a new panda." The hand gripping his cane felt warm as a flash of anger transformed the criminal's face into an ugly snarl before calming again.

"I will see you in seven days." All warmth was gone from the dangerous man as Mr. Smith left the building.

The disguised inventor felt four tremors as his robot guards invisibly entered the car and Phil drove them away. As they turned a corner he pushed a button to cloak the car preventing any would-be stalkers from following them home. Jack felt his body relax as they got further away from the restaurant. The genius considered what was most likely to happen during his next meeting, he didn't know if Bubba would deliver anything he had promised. The most valuable thing Jack had asked for in that meeting had been the false identity, along with the benefits of being a target for the ire of anyone Jack happened to cross the false identity also solved some of the other problems that had been obstructing the genius up to this point. His young age meant that any business enterprise would have to go through a guardian and his guardians in this case were his parents. Yeah that wasn't happening it was easier to just create a whole new person, better to minimize risks to his real identity anyway.

Jack closed his eyes as he felt the effects of the last three days catch up with him. The last thing that swam through his mind as he drifted off to sleep was the image of Panda Bubba's snarling face, hm, he should probably prepare some more.

Four blocks away from where the car had disappeared a car with a different appearance faded into view carrying Jack and his robots.


	5. Chapter 5

-Phil

The world broke into a clarity of meaning that it had not possessed previously. Where before shapes and colors and sounds would indicate a sequence of actions that would be taken next, now the images had become objects with uses and a grander design. The black, white and red images clarified into a being that was clutching its form and making noise. Wait, the noise was words and it knew what the words meant. It now had a designation, it was Phil. A surge of emotion washed through the newly named Phil and though it didn't have the context to know what was going on, it knew that having a designation was a good thing. In fact, knowing more about itself suddenly seemed very important.

Was this existence? Who was the figure clutching it? Which color was the best color? Phil was leaning towards red. The creature that had given it a name had spoken. Could Phil speak? Would the creature speak with Phil? And the most important question of all.

"What am I?"

Jack Spicer its creator, father, boss, master answered many of Phil's questions before he flew off into a hole in the ceiling. Jack was interesting, flying was interesting, could Phil fly?

Phil concentrated, but nothing happened. Instead of being disappointed Phil immediately moved on flipping open the packet it had been instructed to read. So many interesting things Jack can do, anti-gravity discs, a pocket dimension for never running out of pocket space, and the perfect coffee! Phil didn't know why exactly any of those things were good but it all seemed very important.

The silver being quickly read through the list of all the things Jack was studying and for a moment it felt something uncomfortable. The machine could not identify the feeling, but it wanted it to stop. Thinking, Phil decided that the feeling was because it had read the entire list and it didn't know what to do next. Phil thought back to what Jack had said before he left. Phil was supposed to be Jack's assistant, but it didn't have any idea what that meant. It was also supposed to read the packet, but the packet didn't help at all. Phil didn't know why the pocket dimension wouldn't open and the machine didn't know how to fix anything.

What was the other thing Jack had said? The wi-fi password is evilgenius. It had no idea what that meant. At the thought a screen opened in front of Phil with colorful letters spelling out a nonsense word. What was Google? Phil reached out towards the screen and a keypad was projected from the same source as the screen which was coming from a small lens in Phil's chest.

This was so fascinating, if Phil touched the letters beneath the screen they would appear in a small box under the word Google. Phil typed in evilgenius and the screen changed displaying links to people named Victor von Doom who was some sort of tyrant inventor, Tony Stark who was called the Merchant of Death and a whole list of colorful individuals, neato. Phil was ecstatic and began typing in questions. Phil found out that Phil was a boy name, so it was a he now, how wonderful. Phil typed in questions about everything he could think of but mostly about how to be an assistant. As the pages popped up with information Phil had a new feeling that filled him with energy and enthusiasm. With the aid of this Google's information he would become the greatest assistant ever and nothing would stand in his way. Phil's eyes flickered different colors as they reflected the screens. He only glanced at each display for a moment before absorbing the data and moving onto the next.

* * *

A good assistant maintained outward calm at all times but on the inside Phil was bouncing up and down in excitement. The humanlike machine couldn't wait to show Jack his new body and everything he had learned while his maker had been away. The internet was full of wonderful and informative stuff. Phil saw movement and realized Jack was back, but as the ultimate assistant it would be improper to call him Jack.

"Welcome home Mr. Spicer."

* * *

It was a fascinating experience to watch Jack work. His creator's face was split with a wild grin as he leaned over the prone form of one of his bodyguard robots. Did he have the same expression while he was building Phil? The man who created him zipped about the room from one project to another with his double, and wasn't that the most curious thing, to prepare for the upcoming business meeting with some sort of panda person.

The Jacks had to be fed watered and kept organized and Phil was having a wonderful time rushing about with them trying his best to keep everything running smoothly. Being an assistant was so much fun.

* * *

Phil got a new name before they went to the meeting, Irons, ha funny because he was made of metal. The dinner with the panda man was an experience. Phil couldn't taste the food but that didn't keep him from trying it. Jack, or was it Mr. Smith now, wore the outfit Phil had made for him and in the mechanical man's opinion he looked great, just like a boss was supposed to look. The two men talked for a bit about things and Phil thought the meeting went well. After they were done talking Phil got his boss's hat and cane which were both extra special inventions and started to leave when a look passed over Panda Bubba's face. He looked like he wanted to hurt something and he was looking at his father. Phil felt a new emotion in his being and he wanted to hurt the panda man. They left but Phil could still feel the new emotion roiling around, how fascinating.

His creator was asleep in the passenger side of the vehicle as Phil drove them back to their home. As they were approaching their destination he saw smoke reaching into the sky. The mechanical man drove up to a smoking crater where the only home he had ever known had been that morning. This was a troubling situation Jack would know what to do.

"Wake up Mr. Smith."


	6. Chapter 6

"Wake up Mr. Smith"

Jack's eyes snapped open and he felt invigorated. As he got his bearing after coming out of sleep he felt something was out of place. It was the smell, something was burning. Peering out the window, it took longer than he would have liked to admit realizing what he was looking at. The scene looked alien and familiar at the same time. He recognized the road and the houses but there was something there that shouldn't be, or rather something was missing. A burning ruin of wreckage and robot parts smoldered where his house had been, the floor had collapsed creating a rubble filled hole that was all that remained of his lab.

Who could have done this? Was it Panda Bubba? No that didn't make any sense. Jack stepped into the open air and, ignoring the heat, strode towards the destruction only to be stopped by an insistent shout.

"Sir, you can't enter an active crime scene." As distracted as he was by the loss, he hadn't noticed the officers picking over the remains of his life like so many carrion birds. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to back away." Firmly stated the man who had stopped him.

Jack wanted to tell the policeman to move, that this was his home and he had every right to be here, but one thing stopped him. He wasn't Jack Spicer now, he was Jacob Smith. The genius would have forgotten if it wasn't for his height allowing him to look down on the other man.

"What happened here?" Jack said trying to keep the emotion out of his voice, but something must have slipped through because the officer's face softened a little.

"A supervillain attacked this morning." Jack's mind whirled as he tried to think why anyone would attack him. He never kept any of the more desirable Wu and he hadn't done anything to the monks or Chase recently. While his thoughts devolved the lawman continued talking. "People have been going missing for a few days now. We think that this guy Spicer is the first one to fight back. A big guy with an axe smashed through a bunch of robots that everyone says this Spicer guy made. He put up one hell of a fight, but axe guy won and took him."

Jack froze while he tried to assimilate the information. Someone had come with the intention of kidnapping him, and it wasn't anyone he recognized. It sounded like they had grabbed his Ring of Nine Dragons copy, but why? A giant man with an axe didn't sound like someone who was trying to force him to invent for them, and anyway he had been careful not to make it onto the radar of any of any of the big players like HYDRA or AIM and he doubted SHIELD just snatched people like that, they were supposed to be the good guys.

"Are you okay?" the officer asked the stunned Jack who nodded and thanked the man as he left.

Phil opened the door for Jack as he got back into the car and told his assistant to drive them away from the scene. He would have to send his guard-bots to dig up the minilab when the place wasn't swarming with cops, but what would he do then. Jack had nowhere to go, but that was far from his biggest problem right now. He had a giant axe wielding man that could mow through his defenses like they were nothing to find. Copy Jack could escape from his captors by taking off his ring, then he would return to his main body and Jack would receive the experiences and memory of everything his copy had done while they were apart. That Jack didn't have those memories meant that copy Jack couldn't remove the ring or for some reason he didn't want to. The genius would have to save his other half if he couldn't free himself, luckily, he had a plan.

With his home destroyed and his hidden lab currently out of his reach the inventor was working with limited resources, fortunately he was never completely without when he had the Changing Chopsticks to make the most out of his sadly limited pocket space. He had been working on a personal pocket dimension, so he would have unlimited storage space but so far, it wasn't quite working the way he intended, instead of unlimited room the pocket dimension was limited by the space it was attached to. He wanted a pocket that was larger on the inside, what he would get is a pocket dimension that was the size of a pocket. The machinery was too bulky to fit anywhere inconspicuous as well, so he had put it in his hat. With the press of a button the previously empty hat contained an assortment of shrunken valuables and a full sized white rabbit that scrambled to freedom as the contents were unceremoniously dumped on the seat beside him. He sorted through the pile of equipment, explosives, weapons and Wu before finding what he was looking for.

Jack unshrunk the magic burst detector. The device usually locked on to new Wu that appeared, but Jack had something different in mind. He popped open the casing and began to make adjustments before finally pressing the ring on his hand to the machine. The thing whirred to life just like it had detected a new Wu and pointed the direction towards the matching ring on his copy's finger. The genius barked a laugh in satisfaction and Phil drove them along following the path set by the tracking device.

Jack felt a grim determination fill him as they zipped along the road. The ones who had attacked his home had made a mistake when they had chosen him as a target. He wouldn't stop until these fools learned how foolish it was to make and enemy of Jack Spicer.

They traveled through the desert until late into the night before they got close to their destination. They had run out of asphalt roads a while back and now they had abandoned the car. Though it was a desert the ground was not loose sand, instead barren earth stretched for miles with the occasional thorny green shrub breaking the monotony of color. The genius had Phil and his four guard-bots activate stealth technology and the six figures invisibly followed the tracking device until the moonlight revealed a lone bunker out in the middle of nowhere.

Jack pulled his helipack out from where he had it shrunken and stored it and flew to the roof shrinking and carrying his bots with him before shrinking down himself and sneaking into the building through the air vents. Once they were all inside and resized jack shrunk and flew invisibly through the building searching for his double.

Hearing movement the invisible intruder investigated finding a massive man who stood taller than Jack even with his new height, hat included, and twice as wide with muscles that would put a gorilla to shame. The man's head was bald with long triangular tattoos pointing towards his face, his skin was an ashen gray and he had a handlebar mustache. He wore a blue armor and on his back was strapped a war axe.

Jack felt the urge to attack the man who had destroyed his home but bit back the impulse and followed the kidnapper hoping he would be led to where his double was imprisoned. That was unfortunately not where the axman was headed however for instead he entered a decadently furnished room where a beautiful blonde woman in a green skintight outfit and matching green headpiece lounged on a couch. Jack hovered silent, tiny and invisible as the two conversed. He felt a shiver go up his spine as he looked at the woman. Though she was beautiful the only thing the intelligent inventor felt when he observed her was a sense of recognition. Though she wasn't obviously powerful the woman gave off the same sense of danger Jack associated with Wuya. Jack had no proof, but he knew deep in his gut that the woman was a witch.

"Amora, I just threw the final one into the basement with the others." Deferentially offered the big guy to the witch. "She didn't put up nearly as good a fight as the guy from this morning." So, he had grabbed someone else before he could make it here.

"Good, we are trying to do this without drawing any attention, that's the entire point of targeting weaklings instead of big fish." Jack grit his teeth at the insult and made his escape without listening to the end of their conversation. He made his way down to the basement and before long he was able to follow the sound of a crying girl to a locked door. He heard his own voice speaking comforting words and the sobbing quieted.

Satisfied that he had found the right place Jack grew to his full size and, turning off his stealth, electronically signaled his guard-bots to come to his location. The genius startled slightly as Phil appeared at his side instantly holding the Mind Reader Conch, he hadn't heard a thing, his assistant handed him his tools along with his hat and cane. Jack welded through the door's hinges in a matter of seconds, ignoring the lock, pushing the now loose door away and striding into the room while donning his hat and cane looking as impeccable as ever thanks to the mechanical nature of his suit. Inside the room were six bound forms, mostly children, the youngest couldn't have been more than ten the oldest being his double who breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of him.

"Oh, thank God you're here." The other Jack had barely got the words out of his mouth before activating the ring and reuniting himself into one person.

Jack remembered everything that had happened since they split. The man who had attacked him was Skurge the executioner servant of Amora the Enchantress. Skurge had followed Jack home from college tracking down those who had magical power but no training. The Executioner had mistaken Jack as having mystical power because he was a construct of the Ring of the Nine Dragons and registered as magical in whatever way the axe man was using to track potential magic users down.

Amora was a powerful witch, but she had been banished from her home and stripped of her power. She was planning to use a ritual to drain the magic out of six victims and restore her full power. Jack could have escaped by removing the ring but had chosen instead to stay with the children and keep them from panicking as well gather information. The ritual needed six people to work so Jack planned to remove the ring and escape should it look like the witch would begin before main Jack arrived.

The children looked on in shock as Jack merged with the tall man who broke down the door, he looked a lot like a bigger Jack. The little girl he had been comforting looked at him with watering eyes. As she examined his face.

"Jack?" the sound came out hesitant and scared.

"That's right Lucy it's time to escape just like I promised." the children perked up at the proclamation and the tall man removed the grate that covered an air vent before shrinking the children down and placing them into the metal tunnel. The genius then followed suit guiding the children out their now enormous prison, the journey was easier than it could have been, the children took to the change of size far more easily than the inventor would have anticipated, perhaps because of their magical potential. The relative increase in physical ability meant that getting them all outside only took a few minutes the formerly cowed attitude of the kids completely reversing.

When they had all made it outside Jack restored them to their proper sizes and he split into two with the ring once more, sending one Jack to take the children to safety while he went to take care of their former captors. Oddly copy Jack kept his appearance instead of becoming a Smith clone. The duplicates of the ring could take on odd features, so Jack shrugged it off as a peculiarity of the Wu. As the genius turned to head back into the building Lucy grabbed his hand.

"Don't go, they'll hurt you." Jack tilted his top hat as he considered the little girl who had spent the least amount of time in captivity. She had bruises on her arms and one of her eyes had swollen shut. Jack smiled confidently as he placed a hand on her head and mussed her hair. "Don't you worry Lucy, they'll never even see me coming." As he said this, he activated his cloaking tech and vanished. Leaving the shocked girl who broke out into a wide smile and ran off to join the others.

Jack watched for a moment before turning back to the building, burning with determination.


	7. Chapter 7

Jack stood in the desert as the sound of the children faded into the distance. Around him four robots who could be mistaken for human, save for their sharp metal faces, faded into view along with a formal looking butler who stood at Jack's side deferentially holding out a remote, with a single large red button, to the would be world leader.

"The charges are all set Mr. Smith." His assistant informed him as he took the detonator in hand.

"Good work, let's see how these jerks like having their house explode." With a flourish the inventor pressed the button and felt the ground rumble beneath his feet as a loud crack signified his explosives taking out the supports on the building.

The crash of wood and steel was glorious as the building fell on the guy who had so rudely destroyed his home. A sense of deep satisfaction filled the genius as he looked upon his handiwork. That was quickly destroyed as a roar cut through the night. Tons of rubble were flung into the air as the massive man called Skurge jumped out of the wreckage, holding the witch Amora, hardly looking scratched.

"Who dares!" bellowed the giant man with a feral fury clutching his axe as the woman retreated, both looking about for their attackers.

In answer to the call Jack sent his robots to attack while vanishing himself. Skurge was far stronger than Jack had anticipated, in fact the axman displayed greater strength than Jack had ever seen before surpassing even the cyclops while also having incredible speed. The two forces clashed with the guard-bots harrying the more powerful Skurge. Their teamwork was the only thing saving them as Skurge roared, striking wildly and tearing through anything that got in the way of his axe. One bad hit and any of the machines would be taken out but they were no pushovers either with an especially nimble one taking his attention another flowed around him tripping him up and a third fired on the giant at a distance. The fourth was meant to be defensive and fight directly with its opponent but with Skurge's ridiculous axe that was a bad match. It instead hurled debris and employed hit and run tactics.

This might have been enough however Skurge's axe was no normal weapon. It fired blasts of force that sent his guards scrambling to not be destroyed. If Jack wanted any chance of victory he would have separate Skurge from his blade. Conveying a plan to Phil as quietly as he could the two strode invisibly toward the fray.

Amora was cheering for Skurge yelling out encouragements as she focused on the fight between her warrior and his robotic assailants. Her cheers changed to a surprised yelp as she was bound by dozens of sturdy cords that came from a revealed Phil holding a comb.

In the moment when Amora let out a sound of distress the giant faltered for a single moment. The strongest of Jack's guards took that moment to strike Skurge in the stomach with enough forge to puncture steel, though it only winded the warrior.

At the same moment Jack revealed himself grabbing the axe and using the strength of his suit to rip it from the giant's grasp.

When the axe touched Jack's hand he was filled with a bloodlust that was alien to the genius. He could feel power flowing into him that made handling the enormous weapon easy and he wanted nothing more than to take the blade and strike Skurge down for daring to stand against him.

Now Jack was familiar with magic items that changed how the user felt. He routinely used a staff that slowly turned him into a monkey, thoughts and all, so he was not swept away in the emotion brought on by the weapon instead tossing it down and stepping away from it.

His robots meanwhile had capitalized on Skurge's vulnerability and were now on the offensive. It seemed there was more to the axe than Jack had originally thought, as the speed and strength of the giant was greatly reduced. He was still fighting back and ridiculously strong, but the tables had turned his guards overwhelming their massive opponent.

Skurge made to lunge for his axe, but Jack had anticipated this shrinking the weapon and kicking it away from the now desperate man. Shocked by the display Skurge failed to defend himself and was defeated and bound by the robots. Amora wailed in despair at the loss of her warrior from where she had been tangled up by Phil.

Reacting to the cry of his mistress the giant struggled and roared thrashing against his captors. This made a problem for Jack. Skurge was too strong to be held by conventional means and the thought of a more permanent solution was unpalatable.

The genius grinned as a plan popped into his head. Whipping the hat from his head Jack wielded his chop sticks, shrinking Skurge and tossing him into his hat before sealing it locking the berserker into a prison no amount of strength could break him out of.

The witch cried out again as her champion disappeared into her attacker's hat.

"Who are you sorcerer? Why do you attack Amora the Enchantress?" demanded the witch as she tested the strength of the cords that bound her. Her furious expression morphed into a seductive smirk as she examined her captor. "Or is this really just the best way you could think to get a girl's attention?"

The sudden shift in demeanor reminded Jack strongly of Wuya, and that killed any chance she had for seduction to work. The heylin witch used seduction and manipulation to get others to bend to her will when she had her body but Jack's long association with her true personality as an immaterial ghost hag had colored his opinion so that such tactics fell flat against him.

"My name is Jacob Smith." Jack had struck out against the two because of their attack on his house, but if he revealed that as the reason for his actions they could one day strike back at his Jack Spicer persona and they were far stronger than he would have guessed. It would be better to keep the Spicer name out of this. He needed a new reason justify his actions and, lucky for him, he had just the excuse. "Did you think no one would notice you stealing magically capable children? Did you think you would get away with it?" Jack queried with his sternest expression.

"They weren't even using it." Persuaded the bound sorceress. "I would have given them back when I was done. I am nothing without my magic, just a weak powerless woman, surely you can't blame me for being desperate, and besides it was all Skurge's idea. I would never do such things normally." Amora pleaded twisting herself to look imploringly into Jack's eyes.

"Kidnapping these children is not something so easily forgiven." Jacked dismissed her pleas and strode towards her.

"If I can't take their power I will just have to settle for yours!" The witch easily broke free of her bindings with an impressive show of strength before tossing a metal ring that struck Jack in the chest. "I had been preparing to use this uru ring to drain several weaker targets to gain back my strength but with a powerful sorcerer at my disposal I can get my magic back all in one shot." Bragged the witch.

Jack picked the ring off his chest glancing at it with curiosity. Of course, it didn't work on him since he had no magic of his own, but she had no way of knowing that.

"What, that's impos-" The witch started before being struck in the back of the head by Phil who had snuck up behind her while she was focused on his boss.

"And into the hat with you." The genius hummed while shrinking Amora and tossing her into his pocket dimension. A tiny beat up Skurge looked shocked and didn't react in time to do anything before Jack sealed the hat again.

Jack's shoulders sagged in relief as the danger of the situation passed, the two were far more formidable than he had anticipated when he had tracked them here, but he had won anyway. The still night air filled with the sound of laughter as the stress of the situation took its toll on the mad inventor.

A wild grin appeared on his face as Jack's outburst subsided. He looked at his robots who stood waiting for a command from their creator.

His house was gone, he was out in the middle of nowhere and he had no idea what to do with his insanely powerful prisoners, but he had won. He let the feeling of accomplishment fill him as he threw the curious uru ring in his pocket and moved to collect the axe. Careful not to touch the enchanted item directly the genius wrapped the thing in cloth before handing it to one of his guards to hold.

He had started walking when he realized he had sent copy Jack and the children with the car to drive to the nearest police station. How were they going to get back?

The night was again filled with laughter, though now it was slightly more manic.


	8. Chapter 8

As Jack came down from the emotional high of the night he felt charged with energy. Being homeless and stranded in the middle of nowhere was no challenge to his genius. He turned to his robots to come up with a travel plan when a polite cough caused him the spin around to confront the source of the noise.

A man floated towards the ground, his foot touching the dirt lightly as he decided to take gravity as something more than a suggestion. The genius took stock of the stranger, even illuminated in nothing but moonlight his red cape and blue outfit stood out brightly and Jack knew that the person he was facing was a superhero.

"Here I am tracking down some missing children when I detect a massive burst of magic and what do I find but a darkly dressed man laughing over the rubble of a destroyed building, I can't help but think these two things might be connected." The hero sternly accused the man standing in the smoking rubble of what used to be building.

This didn't look good for the genius. He had no idea what sort of power the caped man in front of him had but he seemed to fairly glow with energy. He could order his guards to take him down, but he hadn't done anything wrong. The man was tense and didn't look to be in a very listening mood but maybe he could talk his way out of this.

"Now I know this looks bad," The hero raised a single eyebrow. "but I can explain." Phil moved to take his side and the colorful man burst into action clutching a golden eye pendant that he had hanging around his neck.

The superhero grabbed Jack before Phil could reach his side and the two were consumed in a burst of energy that dragged them both away, Phil's outstretched hand vanishing from his sight as his assistant tried to reach out to grab him.

Jack recognized the sensation of being teleported and when the world shifted back into focus he found himself in a library. The genius swung to strike out at his abductor but found his arms bound to his sides by a flickering white light.

"Now you can explain." The sorcerer made a gesture with his hand and Jack was bound to a chair unable to move. "What have you done with the children?" growled the sorcerer.

Now the genius wasn't new to being threatened by beings far more powerful than himself, so he managed to keep his wits about him and formulate a response to appease the powerful man who had taken him captive. He usually got himself out of trouble by making himself look as harmless as possible. That wouldn't work in this situation, but fortunately for Jack he had what the other man wanted and had no problem handing it over.

"The young magicals are perfectly safe, being transported even as we speak to a police station to await being reunited with their families, after being rescued by me, Jacob Smith, you're welcome." The inventor couldn't quite keep the reflexive sass out his voice, but he fixed his eyes with the hero's hoping to convince the other man of his sincerity.

His words seemed to have the intended effect upon the brightly dressed sorcerer as the man's posture relaxed and he stroked his goatee, his face turning contemplative. Jack would have sagged in relief if he could move more than just his head. Since the other man didn't seem to be about to kill him Jack took a moment to examine the room he had been spirited away to. At first glance he seemed to be in a normal library with bookshelves and comfortable looking chairs and reading desks but the longer the genius looked the more he found odd about his new location. There were more books shelves than could possibly fit into the space they inhabited but everything still seemed to work its way into the room even if some of the furniture had to float. The stairs were non-Euclidean leading into rooms that popped out in unrelated spaces reminding him of the M.C. Escher painting. The entire place screamed wizard's lair.

"What were you doing out there if you aren't the kidnapper? Demolishing a building seem like a fun night out?" The wizard's sarcastic tone actually helped to relax Jack as he considered how much he wanted to tell the hero and the bound man decided that just about everything was the answer. He didn't want to reveal the relation between himself and his other self, instead painting a picture of him hunting down the kidnappers solely for the sake of the children and the hero seemed to accept it.

"Well Jacob Smith, we seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot." Began the sorcerer releasing Jack for his magical imprisonment.

"Please, call me Jack." Responded the inventor with an amiable smile happy at once more being able to move his body.

"Alright Jack, I am Steven Strange Sorcerer Supreme, you can call me Steven." Nodded the sorcerer. "The question remains what to do about the culprits, they can't live in your hat forever and a normal prison just isn't up for the task. It is the job of the Sorcerer Supreme to take care of magical threats such as them for the good of the mortal realm.I will sort out what will be done with them and make sure they are sent back where they belong and are properly punished." Assured the wizard.

That sounded good to Jack and he wasn't about to get into an argument with a guy calling himself sorcerer supreme, besides he couldn't keep normal things in his hat while the two monstrously powerful beings were trapped there.

Steven prepared a binding circle and instructed the inventor to release his captives inside of it. Complying Jack shook his hat out patting the top in a completely necessary display of showmanship. Two small forms tumbled out falling to the floor and were enveloped in the same flickering white light that had bound him earlier.

"Midgard was supposed to be defenseless." Complained the tiny witch who didn't even bother to struggle against the light unlike Skurge who trashed uselessly against the power of the brightly colored magic user.

"Do you want me to unshrink them?" helpfully queried Jack.

The sorcerer considered for a moment stroking his goatee in a movement that Jack suspected the hero made often before a grin broke out on his face.

"Nah." With a snap of his fingers that Jack suspected was superfluous the two vanished in a portal similar to the one Steven had used to abduct him.

"Now let's go check on those children." Steven grabbed Jack's shoulder and the world shuddered once more and the genius was in a new location this time in a city at the police station that the other Jack was taking the children to.

It seemed their timing was spot on as he saw his car and a crowd of children being attended to by some of the friendlier officers. The little girl Lucy turned her head and recognition lit her eyes, but she wasn't looking at Jack.

"Dr. Strange." The little girl ran forward jumping into the embraced of the sorcerer, hugging him as tightly as she could, tears of relief pouring from her eyes.

Jack smiled as he watched the two. The little girl babbling about her experience while a relieved looking Strange nodded and held her looking like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Hey Jack." Other Jack approached looking about in confusion. "Where's Phil?"

That was a good question. His assistant had been abandoned when Steven had teleported them and left at the fight site. Phil was clever though and all of his bots could run fast if they could get up to speed. Separated from him, his assistant would try to reunite with the other Jack, so he was probably on his way here even now. Only one way to be sure though.

Jack pulled out a prototype cellphone design and punched in some numbers. The phone was not yet part of any support networks, so it could only connect to others of its kin which at the moment was just the phone that was built into Phil and another that his copy had. A hologram burst out of the device in his hand projecting the form of his ever-impeccable assistant.

"Mr. Smith and Mr. Spicer, you are both in good health I hope." The sound of rushing wind distorted Phil's voice.

"Yes, we are both fine Phil. We are at the police station with the children, where are you?" Looking at the projected image Jack saw that images were blurring past, but Phil was standing upright not moving.

"We are standing on the roof of a truck heading towards town, ah, it has turned away from my destination, one moment." The image burst into movement and the genius got an interesting show of the world shifting quickly around the centered form of his assistant as he dismounted the vehicle and started running, his legs moving quickly and his upper body remaining still to continue the call. The sight of the guard-bots occasionally passed in the background. "I will rejoin you shortly." His assistant said as he settled on the roof of another vehicle.

"Great see you in a bit Phil." Turning his attention away from the phone the inventor was met with the shining eyes of Lucy who had momentarily turned away from clutching the sorcerer to focus on Jack.

"See I told you Jack can do magic just like you. He saved me." Proclaimed the girl happily, Steven Strange nodded along agreeably, though he had a curious look in his eye as he examined Jack.

Jack gave his statement to the police and each of the children were reunited with their families. Lucy left with Dr. Strange after getting the shorter Jack to promise to keep in contact. It was nearly morning when Phil rejoined them. Jack had to attend classes in only a few hours, so they hopped in the car and Phil drove them to MIT the two Jacks becoming one to save space." The genius laid back in his seat closing his eyes as Phil drove. This seemed to be the only place he was getting any sleep lately, he would have to fix that.


	9. Chapter 9

At the college Jack once more divided himself just in time to make it to his classes. Fortunately, his earliest class on Tuesday wasn't until the afternoon. Unfortunately, he had missed Monday entirely due to the whole being kidnapped thing and would have to struggle to make up the lost time, but he was no stranger to hard work.

It had been less than two days since his meeting with Panda Bubba, giving the inventor just over five to get ready for whatever would happen at their next meeting. The thing Jack needed most was to get access to his lab. It was currently buried under tons of rubble but the minilab itself shouldn't have been harmed, or at least that was Jack's hope.

The drive passed quickly as the inventor planned out what he had to accomplish by the end of the week. Fortunately, Jack Spicer Evil Genius worked well under pressure. The group arrived at the location where his house used to be and he let out a pleased hum because the police were no longer swarming the area.

The genius and his robotic minions walked onto the destroyed building and Jack gave the order to begin digging. They didn't need to clear the whole site, that could be done later. Right now, he just wanted to clear an entrance into the minilab.

After much labor and generous use of the Changing Chopsticks they had cleared a path to the base and revealed a small hole in the foundation of the house that led into his lab. Jack was the only one of the six of them that could fly so he was alone as he shrunk down and entered his shrunken workspace.

Just as he had hoped, everything in his home under his home was completely undisturbed by the destruction that had taken place directly above. Jack went up to the conveyer belt that rolled out his more disposable Jack-bots and made a few adjustments. Though the machines weren't very strong there were a good number of them and the genius could easily make more.

Time to speed up the clearing process.

Before exiting the lab with a dozen of the Jack-bots the inventor altered his appearance back into Jack Spicer. Rather than remove his mechanical suit he altered the chameleon metal into a lab coat and boots. He placed his hat and cane on a table for further study. He felt comfortable in his guise of Jacob Smith, but if he was going to be rebuilding his home it would be as Jack Spicer.

Jack and a swarm of bronze robots emerged from the miniature lab and he immediately set them to work clearing the rubble. The job which had been slogging along at a slow pace accelerated with the addition of a small army of his mechanical workers.

Jack spent the rest of the day and well into the night overseeing the clearing of the rubble from his home. The insurance on the house was pretty good so he should be able to afford all the building materials and reconstruct the house with his robots quickly.

Before he turned in for the night he had the land completely cleared to the foundation and had written out plans for the robots to follow during the reconstruction process. Phil organized the minions and set them doing the proper tasks making the process go smoothly.

With the robots on task thanks to his assistant, Jack retreated to his lab after all there was so much to do before he met Bubba on Sunday.

* * *

Wednesday

The reconstruction had begun, and Jack was working on making the cloaking devices he had promised Bubba. He wouldn't be able to complete them in the minilab because some of the more delicate work could only be done at full size with a tiny Jack working on the inside of the machines. He would have to solve that if he was going to automate the process in his phones, but he would figure it out, he was a genius after all. In the meantime, he needed a dozen before Sunday and that required prep work.

Lucy called him while he was working and invited him over for dinner, apparently her parents wanted to thank Jack for rescuing their daughter. Jack called his double over at MIT and he agreed to go. After all a college student could never turn down a home cooked meal.

Jack had taken the uru ring Amora had tried to use to drain him of magic and set it on the table next to his pocket dimension hat and cane. The cane contained a battery that stored magic energy Jack had collected. It pumped a small amount into his hand when he gripped the cane before pumping it back into a second battery that would hopefully have been adapted into Jack energy he could use. It worked, just not very well. The longer the energy was kept in direct contact with his skin the more it felt like energy he could use. Unfortunately, the amount he had managed to turn to Jack energy was miniscule. He could feel it but if he tried to use any it would be dried up in an instant.

The hat wasn't very useful while Jack was shrunken. The pocket dimension remained the same size whether he was shrunk or not, so it was impossible to use while the hat was small. The first thing the robots had fixed had been the basement ,so soon he would have his regular sized lab space back but until then he wouldn't be able to play with his pocket dimension.

He took some scans of the uru ring but so far, he wasn't able to tell how it worked, which was a pity. If he could drain magic into himself like Amora was trying to do, he might finally be able to use some magic of his own.

Jack tinkered for the rest of the day.

* * *

Thursday

Marco the landscape guy was horrified at the sight of the damaged garden and really went the extra mile to get it back up to its former glory. Jack gave him an extra two hundred dollars for his work, the guy really deserved it.

The base of the house was rebuilt which meant the basement was ready to turn back into a full sized lab for the genius, which in turn meant he could do the finishing work on the cloaking devices.

It also meant that he could play around with his hat and Jack was shocked to discover that the inside of the pocket dimension had grown. Jack set to discover what had caused the unexpected breakthrough and found that the dimension was giving of a kind of energy that it hadn't possessed before. The same energy was radiating far more potently off the axe the inventor had liberated from Skurge. Would pumping more energy into the hat cause the inside to grow? More experimentation was required.

He had also made a breakthrough with the uru ring, or rather Phil had revealed he had been reading Amora's thoughts with the Mind Reader Conch during their fight and had a clue about how the ring worked. The best part was it would work for Jack, all he needed was a spark of his own power and he could use the ring to drain other magic users, it wouldn't let him start generating magic on his own, but it would give him a well of power, at least theoretically. He just needed to find someone to drain, the evil genius grinned.

He spent the rest of the day in a wonderful mood.

* * *

Friday

The Wu detector went off and Jack felt like he deserved a break from all the work he was doing so he jetted off to go get into a magic fight. The evil inventor ended up in a showdown against Kimiko the fire using monk with the anger issues, ha tropes. In the past he could get her to lose her cool and give himself the advantage with a well-placed insult or condescending compliment. She had mellowed recently and now had a sort of zen thing going on, it probably wouldn't last but who knows, people can change.

He never got tired of watching the world twist when a showdown started. The game created portals that they had to chase each other through giving Jack some fresh ideas on how to achieve instant travel having been thinking about it since his forced abduction by Steven Strange. He lost the Tangle Web Comb and Chase was more sneery than usual throwing some insults at him. He chatted with Wuya for a bit before flipping off Chase and leaving in a hurry.

When he got back to his house the frame was up and the walls were being built. The genius helped in the process wanting to reinforce the building enough so that it wouldn't crumble so easily in the future.

* * *

Saturday

Copy Jack came back every weekend to remerge for a bit before getting back to work. Together they worked on improving the suit for Mr. Smith. He could really use an emergency weapon, maybe a taser or something.

He also played around with the hat a bit more trying to solve the growth mystery. Surely it grew because of the extra energy provided by having Skurge in there but pouring more energy into the hat didn't really do anything. Maybe it had to be a living thing producing the energy. With a shrug Jack threw a fern and sunlamp powered by one of his magic batteries into the hat which now had the space of a modest broom closet.

He had been having trouble finding a magic user to drain, seeing as they didn't exactly advertise on the internet. Wuya didn't have any power at the moment and he really didn't like his chances if he picked a fight with the sorcerer supreme. He tried attaching the uru metal to one of his magic batteries, and it worked, sort of. He felt energy for a moment, but it quickly slipped away. The genius attached the uru to his cane so that he could absorb the magic from a battery in an emergency but really it wasn't enough power to do anything impressive with and it vanished in seconds. He had managed to copy the water using monk Omi and fill a glass with water in the time he was charged with magic, woo progress. He watered his extradimensional fern with it.

* * *

Sunday

The house only needed to be painted and furnished to get back to its former glory. Phil had even managed to work something out with the insurance company and the payout, which would not normally be near enough to cover the repair of the home, was far more than Jack had needed to get the house back in order. Phil had marked the difference in price as the cost of hiring Irons Construction, good work Phil.

The genius once more dawned the appearance of Mr. Smith and he Phil and the guard-bots set off to meet with Panda Bubba.


	10. Chapter 10

Mr. Smith strode towards the factory that had been promised him by Panda Bubba. It was rather plain, but he could fix that. It would be a useful face for his manufacturing project, if the crime boss even planned to go through with his end of the bargain. It was best to have a plan for either scenario.

By the inventor's side walked his assistant who had really grown into his role over the last week. Phil had been organizing his workforce, doing paperwork, applying for and receiving a business license and generally being competent since he had been activated, Jack was very proud.

Behind them followed his four guard-bots. Jack had his four robots decked out in suits and sunglasses to really play up the security guard look he had going for them. Their more robotic features were played down and, since each one had a different build, a normal person would never guess that they were machines. Their voices still had a mechanical tone to them, but it was getting better. He had even named them for the occasion, Don, Raph, Leo, and Mike. Each guard held a large suitcase that contained three of the cloaking devices that were to be traded to the criminal.

The factory itself was a decent size and in good condition. He made his way to the front door which swung open to reveal one of Panda Bubba's goons waiting for him. Jack was wary, but he was welcomed inside and ushered towards a waiting Bubba.

"Is the building to your liking?" the criminal jovially asked, gesturing to a table at which they both took a seat.

"It is suitable for my purposes." Indeed, there was plenty of space to work and all the machinery that had been used originally was still present and the inventor could probably repurpose it.

"The copper is in a truck out behind the facility and," Bubba snapped his fingers and his workers appeared by his side with a briefcase, "your new identification all here all ready for you." Jack opened the suitcase reading the paperwork that brought into existence the man he had invented. It was all there including paperwork for Philip Irons which was a nice bonus. Jack handed the suitcase off to Phil satisfied with its contents.

"Now for your end of the bargain." The crime boss leaned forward, greed shining in his eyes as he spoke

Jack gestured and Mike, the fastest of his of his guard-bots, placed one of the suitcases on the table opening it and revealing the technology within.

"A small demonstration is in order." The inventor said as he removed one of the devices from the case and secured it on himself before activating it and vanishing in front of the eager looking criminal. "As you can't see the device bends light rendering the wearer invisible, full battery can be used for four hours and can be recharged at any outlet." Jack became visible once more removing the device and placing it back into the suitcase before closing it once more.

"Wonderful! Then our business can be concluded." Bubba's men placed a sake bottle and two dishes on the table which Bubba poured first into the dish for Mr. Smith and then the one for himself. "A toast to seal the deal." They both drank.

The crime boss's men took the suitcases from his guard-bots and Bubba rose to leave.

"A pleasure doing business with you Jacob Smith. I hope that in the future we can have more profitable ventures together, why we are almost friends wouldn't you say?" The large man spoke while leaving. Tension stiffened the inventor's spine, was this the moment he was betrayed? "And friends aren't so formal with each other. Friends use nicknames. Calling you Jacob Smith is so stuffy, how about I call you Jack. Goodbye Jack, until we meet again." With that Panda Bubba was gone.

Well that was ominous.

Bubba clearly knew or at least strongly suspected his identity but had chosen to play along and not do anything with it. No betrayal, no fight between their forces, just a business deal that went off without a hitch.

Jack felt a little scandalized.

Oh well, he wasn't going to complain about getting what he wanted. The genius set to work and before the end of the day the factory had transformed into something unrecognizable from its former self. The outside had been painted white and blue in a stylized manor that Phil said would elicit a sense friendliness in whoever saw it. On the top of the building was a sign that read Smith Innovations.

The once silent factory was alive with activity and the occasional explosion. On the inside robots buzzed everywhere and Jack himself worked on readying an assembly line. He set Phil out to deal with the bureaucracy of running a business as well as setting up an ad campaign to drum up interest for the holophone. He needed to work on the name, nah he would leave that to his marketing department, which at the moment was Phil.

The inventor worked tirelessly with his swarm of robots creating electronic marvels inside his new factory, copper machines came to life under the hands of the mad genius and a new minilab was placed under the foundation where everything that could be easily mass produced would be made. The delicate work that would need to be done out of the minilab Jack had needed to do himself in the past. This slowed the manufacturing process, but by shrinking some specially made Jack-bots and enlarging what they were working on Jack created a self-sufficient system that could pump out the advanced technology with minimal oversite, granted at the moment it wasn't very fast but by the time Sunday rolled around again his factory could pump out twenty phones a day and it was only getting faster.

Phil came up to his boss with a progress report on how things were going on the business side of things. His assistant had gotten though the legal work of setting up a functioning business faster than Jack had dreamed possible. Phil cut through bureaucratic B.S. like a paperwork ninja. His most useful creation had even set up a website where people could place their orders and linked it to a Smith Innovations Facebook page Phil maintained.

Now all he needed to do was advertise and the inventor could start raking in the cash. He was thinking maybe a billboard or a commercial.

Jack clicked onto the site Phil had made to take orders and his jaw dropped. He had ten thousand orders and the number was steadily climbing up, how was that even possible. The genius typed Smith Innovations into the Google search bar and it popped up a Facebook page, but not the one Phil had made.

The actress Lara King had been posting how wonderful the device was on her Facebook and Twitter pages and the demand had skyrocketed, but how did she have one of his phones or even know about them. It didn't take him long to figure out the answer. Lara King was the mother of Lucy King the little girl who Jack had rescued. The same Lara King who copy Jack had gone to dinner with not long ago. Huh, lucky.

The demand for Jack's phones was enormous and the inventor would have to increase the production capacity of his factory a hundred-fold to even attempt to meet it. He lowered his goggles over his eyes and set to work. Such a challenge was nothing to his genius!

"Phil arrange a method of mass delivery." Ordered the mad inventor.

"At once sir." Agreed his assistant who went to make a call to UPS.


	11. Chapter 11

The wonderful thing about making machines that made other machines was that the progress sped up on an exponential level. The inventor's first assembly line served as the blueprint for his creations to mimic and soon Jack had filled his warehouse with machines cranking out his invention, a phone that was miles ahead of even the most advanced competitors. He had already shipped out the first thousand and, given time, he would be able to catch up with the massive wave of orders sent by people looking to get their hands on the latest technological advancement.

This was only the first step in the evil genius' plan to take over the world. He had seen what happened to others when they tried to take what they wanted by force of armies or even magic. You had power for a day or two before the heroes came to set everything back to the way it was with their own show of force and the poor aspiring tyrannical despot would lose everything. In order to gather real power, you had to have a strong foundation and build larger over time until not only did you control moost everything but you ruling was completely normal, and hadn't it always been that way? This was done through achieving success in all its forms financial, political, personal all that and more were necessary, and Jack would have them, starting in the world of business. He would make himself the premier supplier of cutting edge technology to the world until everyone began relying on him to provide, then he would expand.

Rinse repeat rule.

There would be many obstacles on the path, not to mention the hordes of competitors who would scrabble for his power and he would likely meet with failure many times, but Jack was no stranger to perseverance and no one ever said chasing your dreams was easy.

Besides Jack thought he would make a pretty great emperor of all mankind.

The mad man's musings were cut short as an alarm blared. An army of robots assembled, far vaster than anything Jack had ever managed before, spilling out the doors of the factory and creating a moving wall of machinery against any force that would try to attack their creator, but though the siren alerted them to an enemy none were to be seen.

"Did you think you could use my own technology against me?" Jack mocked activating a signal that disabled the cloaking technology he had sold to Panda Bubba. In a shimmering wave, a dozen gangsters faded into visibility facing the robot army, Panda Bubba standing at their front. "Of course, I built in a failsafe in case you turned on me." The crime boss merely smiled confidently at being seen through.

"Ah, Spicer, so it was you. I had suspected but the competence you displayed as Jacob Smith left room for doubt. Of course, that very competence led me to prepare to face an actually worthy opponent. I have armed my finest combatants with the strongest Wu stolen from those xiaolin and heylin fools using the very technology you sold me. I knew of course that you would set up to mass produce these wonderful toys of yours, and I let you. I waited for you to build the infrastructure needed to make as many of the cloaking devices as I could ever want and now that you have succeeded I will crush your pathetic robots and take your masterpiece for myself." The criminal gestured and his men rushed into the wall of metal utilizing powerful magical objects to cut a swath through Jack's machines.

The attack, though powerful and destructive was not unprepared for. The scale was larger than the genius had dreamed but an attack by enemy forces was hardly a shock. His robots were armed and fired percussive blasts at the enemies that, though well-armed, were clearly less skilled with the Wu than the long experienced monks. His guard-bots waded into the fray targeting those who broke off from the main attacking force and together overwhelming them.

Though his army was numerically superior the enemy's magic made it seem like his forces were made of papier-mâché rather than metal. A teleporting gangster tore Jack's machines down one by one while another used superspeed to destroy a half dozen at a time. He would need to remove the most powerful combatants if his army were to have any hope of repelling the enemy forces.

Phil was methodically moving from formation to formation directing the drones to more effectively repel the intruders and Jack didn't want to pull him away from that. He thought through options frantically trying to come up with a plan before charging into the combat.

The genius was familiar with all of the Wu being used against him and picked his first target accordingly, the gangster who was moving at extreme speed. The Wu he was using was called the Shard of Lighting and anyone holding it could have a short time moving at impossible speeds. There was a cooldown time between uses however and the man who was using it now had been moving in a straight line taking down six bots at a time. The man vanished again, and Jack sped to the spot he suspected the gangster would lose his speed. Sure enough, he dropped out of his quickened state and Jack pounced in his moment of weakness using a simple taser he had added to his suit to remove the man from play.

Relieving the downed combatant of the Shard of Lighting, Jack rose only to have a sharp pain flare in his back staggering him forward. He had been slashed by a long-haired thug in a white suit who stepped out of a tear in space wielding a sword in one hand and a clawed glove in the other. He was using the Golden Tiger Claws which could be used to teleport to wherever the user envisioned. Fortunately for the inventor the clothes he was wearing weren't made from cloth and had prevented the strike from bisecting him, though he would be bruised in the morning. Using the Wu in his hand Jack witnessed the world around him slow to a crawl. He grabbed the claw from his attempted murderer and pushed the man to his machines to be taken care of when time reasserted itself.

Taking a moment, now that he had one to spare, Jack observed the battlefield. Things weren't looking great, more than half of the defending robots had been taken down but the news wasn't all bad. His guards had taken out some highly dangerous Wu. The wielders of The Sword of Storms, which could blow away a large number of his machines and the Orb of Tornami, which could wash away a similar amount, had both been taken out by his four best warrior-bots, go team.

His mob of robots had turned into an army under the direction of his assistant. They had focused their efforts on taking down the enemies with the highest mobility and had struck down two flyers and a guy with shoes that granted increased quickness. His forces couldn't touch a man who was rushing through the field intangibly holding The Serpents Tail, but intangibility meant he wasn't doing much damage either so Jack put him from his mind for the moment focusing on who was doing the most damage. The worst offenders were a pair who were shooting fireballs and bolts of lightning. They were shredding through Jack's forces at an alarming rate. If they weren't taken out quickly his machines would quickly be overwhelmed. Jack didn't see Panda Bubba which was concerning but the world was returning to full speed and he needed to act now.

Swiping the claw, Jack created a portal to his four guards taking the orb they had won and porting off again to wash away the man spewing fire at his creations. The gangster using the fire Wu was washed away by Jack and the genius prepared to challenge the lightning wielder when he felt his body freeze. A thug was pointing a golden gauntlet at him that froze his movements. He approached Jack with a deliberate slowness and a raised blade.

Jack could make no action as his death approached him save observe his attacker and think. The Golden Finger was the name of the Wu that had caught him and in his last moments he thought how it was kind of the opposite of the Shard of Lightning. One sped you up and the other slowed you down, maybe if he studied the effects of both he could discover the principle that allowed for superspeed. The inventor wouldn't get the chance now, a pity.

Before the man could put an end to Jack's aspirations he was bodily tackled to the ground by Phil who had charged to his creator's rescue with the force of a train. Jack didn't have a moment to contemplate his brush with mortality as he had to dive to the floor to avoid a blast of lightning from a woman wielding the Eye of Dashi. Activating his speed Wu Jack relieved her of the dangerous lightning spitting amulet and in a quick motion bound her hands, leaving her to be taken care of by his minions.

Who was left? His army was devastated, but there were only two enemies still on the field. The intangible guy had made a misstep at some point. He had been releasing the Serpent's Tail with his weapon inside his targets destroying them but letting go of the Serpent's Tail was a mistake, as the Wu was constantly trying to rush forward when it was in use. The Wu had gotten away from him and darted off leaving the minion defenseless against the robot defenders.

His guard-bots had targeted the wielder of the Ruby of Ramses which could grab objects and throw them around to great destructive effect. Jack's speed boost wore off as he watched. The thug was using a destroyed Jack-bot like a blunt weapon, but his four guards were able to work together and seemed to be about to overpower him when Mike's chest burst open and, in a shower of sparks, he crumpled to the ground unmoving.

The other three grabbed the ruby, tossing its owner away before spinning into a defense formation against their new attacker. They just weren't quite as good without all four of them though and Don's torso was crushed by an invisible force. Leo swiped his arm out towards the empty air. Jack watched as Leo ripped away the Shroud of Shadows from Panda Bubba who had been attacking them unseen. He had been tearing through Jack's army unopposed this whole time. The Fist of Tebigong came down on Raph's head as he tore away the shroud ending him. Leo struck out at the crime boss only for Bubba to doge the attack. In addition to the fist which could strike with incredible force and the shroud which allowed him to invisibly make his way through the battlefield, the criminal was wearing a pair of thick glasses.

The Crystal Glasses let the user see an instant into the future and Bubba was using it to great effect against Leo. The glasses were annoying to get around and his only remaining guard-bot was suffering for it. They did have a weakness however. The opponent only saw what he would see in the immediate future so if he could freeze Bubba from behind then the criminal would not see any danger in the next instant. Jack grabbed the Golden Finger and slashed the tiger claw traveling behind the criminal and freezing him. Bubba had used his precognition to bate the nimble machine into a poor dodge. His movement was stopped by Jack an instant too late, the crime boss put his enhanced fist through the chest of Leo.

The inventor watched one of his most useful creations fall with his fellows and felt a stab of anger towards the criminal who was guilty of the deed. It was no simple thing to bring robots up to that level of competence and Jack hoped that they could be salvaged, but they were very damaged. He wouldn't know what could be done until he had time to really go over them in his lab and that would have to wait until after the man in front of him was dealt with.

With their creator holding the final combatant in stasis his remaining robots moved to relieve the captured criminal of his Wu and bind him tightly.

Of his swarm of robots only three now remained functional, the field in front of his factory littered with the broken remains of what used to be a powerful force. Bubba's minions had all been disarmed and bound just like their leader and Jack stood victorious even with his great losses.

Phil, as pristine as when the battle had started despite his active involvement, had entered the factory at some point while the crime boss was being trussed up by the remaining Jack-bots. His assistant returned traveling towards Jack at a run. He had grabbed the cane Jack used when he was acting as Mr. Smith and presented it to his boss. Jack gripped the cane feeling the warmth of the handle as he turned to the man who had attacked him.

The betrayer glared at Jack from his bound position, his eyes expressing a fury at the humiliation of his defeat to an opponent he had considered beneath him.

"Well Spicer look at you, you won, congratulations, but I hope you know that this still won't end well for you. Both the heylin and xiaolin are hunting for the Wu I stole, and their hunt will lead them straight to you." Spat the defeated man.

"You betrayed me Panda Bubba, you attacked me with all your stolen power and you lost." Jack spoke with an unfamiliar power to his voice.

"Well yes, that is the way these things go, and sometimes you lose." Bubba answered, an honesty in his tone, before he grunted at a sudden pressure.

Jack gripped the uru in his cane and felt energy rush into and out of his being to latch onto the criminal. Bubba's form twisted growing into that of a bear, his eyes wild and scared.

"Knock him out and donate him to a zoo somewhere far away." Jack ordered

"At once sir." Responded his assistant, a glint of malice in his eyes as he approached the Panda.

Jack turned away walked back to his factory.

"And you three clean up this mess!" Jack barked.


	12. Chapter 12

-Wuya

The world had changed since before she had been imprisoned in the puzzle box, well the first time she had been imprisoned anyway, things were pretty much the same after the second time. Floating around as a powerless but untouchable ghost had been an interesting experience. Only able to act through what she could convince others to do she had attached herself to Jack Spicer and that had been a pretty good time, still she vastly preferred having a corporal body even if she was without her magical power, having the ability to touch things was wonderful.

She lounged on an extravagantly furnished purple couch eating grapes and enjoying her corporeality that she had gotten back with the aide of Chase Young. She remembered Chase from over a thousand years ago when he had been on the side of good. In the time she had been imprisoned Chase had never stopped being active and despite his unquestionable competence he had not accomplished all that much. He was also something of a bore, so serious all the time. Sure, he had a little slice of land where he lived with a group of enslaved warriors but really all that meant was he had a castle in the middle of nowhere. She suspected he didn't truly care about taking control of the world and was more interested in fighting powerful opponents. Kind of the exact opposite of Jack in that respect.

Jack was an odd duck in the world of evil and probably the closest thing she had to a friend, though that didn't mean much. He was kind of like a puppy always enthusiastic and happy to be there, but made a mess of things. He never seemed to take anything they did seriously, and often tripped at the finish line whenever he was close to victory. That would usually lead to someone washing out and giving up, but though Jack always seemed to be losing he never seemed to have lost. He always had a few Wu in his back pocket and no matter how he was crushed or stymied he would pop back up like a daisy out of the snow with a smile and a new plan. Jack was always there with his inexhaustible fount of misplaced energy.

So, when he hadn't shown up for a Wu hunt she was surprised but not worried. Jack's only redeeming feature was his persistence after all. It was simple curiosity that led her to visit the idiot after he no-showed at the latest showdown. She was caught off guard by the destruction of the house she had hung about for the last few years. Looks like Jack was dead, oh well.

She would have to find someone new to manipulate. Chase just didn't fall for her tricks like Jack did. She pouted at the loss of her minion all the way back to the castle.

She shouldn't have been surprised when a familiar face turned up at the next Wu fight, but she was mildly pleased that the fool hadn't gotten himself killed. She even offered him a place waving a palm fan to keep her cool while she lounged about eating grapes. He turned her down which was another surprise, he usually jumped on any chance to keep himself around either the xialoin or the heylin, waiting for any opportunity to get himself an advantage. If he was turning her down, he must be up to something, how amusing.

Jack beat out Chase in the race to the Wu challenging Kimiko to some game where they hoped through holes in reality, but the truly interesting thing was Chase. He had been losing his patience recently after failing to add Omi to his collection of cat warriors, and the dragon man was glaring at Jack.

Chase had some sort of problem with the idiot and Wuya loved to ferry out secrets that might be used to her advantage. She put on her best schmoozing voice and slinked up to Chase to find out what his problem was.

It was more boring than she had hoped, Chase believed that might made right and Jack, with his sniveling and weakness, somehow managing to keep up with true warriors rubbed the dragon man the wrong way. Wuya suspected there was more to it, but she had lost interest when he began to rant. She tuned out all rants after living with Jack for a while.

Later Wuya was floating around the castle working with what little magic she had left when she heard the draconic screech of Chase Young coming from where the Sheng Gong Wu were stored. The cache had been completely cleared out leaving them without a Wu to their name, how could this have happened. The evidence in the chamber suggested someone invisible had snuck in and cleared them out. A piece of bronze machinery lay damningly forgotten by the trespasser in the corner.

Oh, that's right Jack had his little invisibility machines he had made. Chase had swelled up into his lizard like form and crushed the metal in his fist as easily as crumpling paper, promises of murder on his breath. She wouldn't want to be Jack right now, not that anyone ever wanted to be Jack, HA!

Wuya went back to lounging and eating grapes a wicked grin on her face, good luck idiot.

* * *

Extra: Jack at college.

Existence was so peaceful since he had left a copy of himself to take care of the craziness at home, while he got on with the important things in life. He had a project coming up where the other students had to make a functioning machine that could spit out metal balls. Ha losers, he would blow them out of the water with a robot that would juggle and perform calculus. While doing the basic functions as described in the assignment as well. He was a star student and didn't want to be marked down for not following the instructions after all.

The genius student had been invited over to meet the family of the little girl he had comforted and rescued when they both had been captured and it had been a great time.

He had a lovely dinner with the Kings and he got to show off some of his inventions. His audience was very attentive, of course who wouldn't want to see the results of the genius Jack Spicer. His hosts seemed particularly impressed with his holograms. He got invited back naturally, everyone loved to be in the presence of greatness such as he.

Lara was pretty cool to, she could change how people perceived her, which was interesting and really contributed towards her popularity as an actress, though she maintained that her success was due to her overwhelming talent. Jack agreed with her of course, it was only polite. She was friends with a woman named Clea who was apparently a talented sorceress, he sure seemed to meet a lot of those, hm. She had been tutoring little Lucy in how to use magic for some time now and was the one who had called in Dr. Strange when the kidnapping happened. Clea was dating the wizard and when Lucy had been kidnapped Lara had called Clea who had called Steven who rushed off to the rescue less than an hour after she was taken, efficient.

Lucy had become his fan at some point, only natural he supposed he was pretty great after all, and he found himself bragging as the night went on. She seemed to be under the impression that he was some kind of powerful magic user and he found he didn't want to disappoint her, so he ended up sharing a bit more about his plans than he probably should have. Lara had really taken a shine to his hologram projecting cellphone and when she asked about getting one of her own he told her he would soon be selling them, describing it as bringing magic to every home in America to enthusiastic support from both Lucy and Lara.

They had a lovely quiche for desert and Jack was invited to come back again before he left to get back to his dorm.

The student smiled while he tinkered on his homework. Life was good without all the craziness.


	13. Chapter 13

The battle with Bubba had destroyed the vast majority of Jack's workforce. He could rebuild or repair his Jack-bots fairly easily, but the genius had also lost some things that weren't so simply replaced. His guard-bots had been his ace against anyone who might attack him and simply building more didn't solve the problem. The secret of his guards which made them so effective was in how they learned to fight. He didn't just program in a bunch of attacks and send them out into the world. They needed to train and learn in order to become effective warriors and the process took months to get them up to a passable level of competence and they never stopped getting better. If he couldn't repair them then it would be at least another year to get their replacements up to their formers level of skill, and the originals would have spent that year improving as well. He would simply have to find a way to repair them no matter the damage.

Jack had more immediate concerns however. Despite the sudden lack of robotic occupants, the assembly of the phones kept chugging away and they were beginning to pile up at the end of the conveyer belts. Jack refused to halt production of his creation, he merely needed to quickly create a workforce. Luckily, he had recently come into the possession of some incredibly useful magical artifacts one of which could be used to travel.

Jack opened a portal home and entered his original minilab and set the machines to pump out more Jack-bots before exiting, unshrinking and opening another portal. This time he appeared in the dorm room of his doppelganger who had been playing videogames with a friend.

"What the hell!" Came the ignored exclamation.

"No time to explain, come with me." Jack grabbed his copy, merging together, and disappeared in another portal leaving a panicked college student behind.

Jack felt a little bad now that he realized that the guy he had left behind was an engineering student named Chad and that they were buddies. Oh well he would get over it, Chad was a cool guy.

Stepping back into the factory Jack split off again leaving his copy to organize the overflowing pile of phones and he returned home. In the minilab was another issue, his assembly had used all the parts available for the assembly of his Jack-bots, the six that had been made would have to do. Jack grabbed the available robots out of the minilab and stuck their shrunken forms in his pocket, so he could bring them with him as he transported back to the factory.

Jack sent the robots to join the three who had swept up the battle field. The pile of broken Jack-bots stood tall as a stark reminder just how close the victory had been to a failure, but the genius only saw spare parts. He shrunk the pile of broken bronze and tossed it into a bag to be recycled into more workers before having the bodies of his guard-bots brought into the building to see if they could be repaired.

His most pressing problem was sitting innocently in a large bag one of his robots had laid by the door. All the collected Wu were a tempting prize that would, if he kept them, lead to his ruin.

Both Wuya and the dragon could sense the presence of Wu and, even though none of them were freshly activated, such a large-scale fight would lead both the heylin and the xiaolin to the factory if he didn't move them immediately. As useful as the things were he simply wasn't in any position to defend himself from attackers after he had lost his entire fighting force to Bubba. Teleportation was so useful though, No! He would study the effects and try to recreate the ability later, if he kept the claws now he could lose everything he had built.

The two forces were probably already on their way and Jack needed to not be here when they arrived or they could wreck the factory. Grabbing the bag and hoisting it over his shoulder the inventor entered the building. His copy had been hard at work and the lines were building his devices unobstructed. Now that he had at least some robots up and running they could keep up operations with minimal supervision.

Jack had a test in about an hour and really needed to get back to college and, having kept everything from falling apart for the moment, he sent a copy of himself back to school using the claw. Now that everything was once more out of danger of jamming Jack took on the appearance of Mr. Smith.

Phil returned from his errand of disposing of their attacker just as Jack once more donned his hat. His assistant, just as efficient as ever, began directing the robotic workers in a more effective manner than Jack had them working before, out the window, Jack spotted an approaching green form.

Scrambling Jack turned his attention to the bag of Wu which sat incriminatingly out in open for anyone to see, and to his Jack-bots which would immediately out his identity to anyone who was even passingly familiar with Jack Spicer. Whipping his hat from off his head Jack began cramming the Wu inside leaving himself only the chopsticks. Ordering his robots forward, Jack shrank them and tossed the tiny machines into the hat as well before finally tossing the chopsticks in after them and shutting off the hat which pulsed warmly with energy even as the genius cut off the dimension before settling into its inert state as simple headwear.

Was there anything else incriminating laying around?

He did a quick scan and his eyes fell on the damaged form of his guards. They looked nothing like normal Jack-bots and the monks had just landed. They were laid out on operation tables so that their maker could see if he could repair them so Jack just threw some sheets over them. He saw nothing else that would give him away in the building but outside was a different matter. The area was pock marked from the battle and the use of Wu was obvious.

There was a knock on the door, showtime.

* * *

Phil opened the door revealing a young Asian woman. Her dark hair was tied in pigtails and she wore a smile and red robes tied with a black belt. Behind her, three other figures investigated the damaged area where there had been a vicious battle only hours earlier. One was a stoutly built blond, another a lanky brunette with a green reptile wrapped around his shoulders and the third was short bald and yellow with six dots on his head. All three wore the same robes as the woman at the door.

"I am sorry miss, but Smith Innovations is not open for tours at this time." His assistant began to shut the door while the flustered monk called out.

"Wait, I'm not here about any tour!" She raised her voice holding the door open. Phil raised an eyebrow and stared at the monk while she blushed in embarrassment before shaking it off and continuing again. "My name is Kimiko Tohomiko and I, with my team are, hunting thieves who we believe where here recently. Can I come in and talk about what happened here?" Kimiko's voice took on an authority and it didn't look like she would back down, even in the face of Phil's raised eyebrow.

"Very well miss, though I am afraid we have little to offer in the way of refreshments at the moment everything is rather new, and we have yet to furnish an area for visitors." Phil allowed the monk inside and lead her to a desk where he took care of all the paperwork offering her a chair. "We are severely understaffed for now, thanks to all the ruckus this morning, and keeping everything running is time consuming so if we could take care of this quickly. What is it exactly you want to know?" Phil questioned the girl who was looking at the machinery with a curious expression.

Her eyes fell on Jack, in his Mr. Smith persona, who was busy making sure the assembly lines didn't overflow and the phones were boxed up and put away, now that all of his workers were hidden someone had to do it. Her attention snapped back to Phil when he asked her the question.

"The villain Jack Spicer stole some very dangerous artifacts and outside looks like a warzone. Right at the spot we tracked him to, care to explain?" She mirrored Phil's raised eyebrow.

"Wasn't Jack." Called Jack from where he was working. Catching the attention of Kimiko. "It was that traitor Bubba. He came to steal my factory and Jack stopped him, took the magical doodads and disappeared in a portal leaving me to clean up this mess." Jack groused as Kimiko moved to his side, Phil following.

"You were working with Panda Bubba?" questioned the monk, "And who are you?" she finished.

"This is Smith Innovations, isn't it? That makes me Mr. Smith. Jacob Smith at your service," Jack introduced with a flourish "and yeah Bubba sold me this building and then turned around and tried to take it back right after I had finished setting up production, lousy thief." He finished with a grumble.

While Kimiko was listening, her gaze had fallen on the phones that were being produced and her demeanor shifted. She was suddenly bursting with excitement.

"Oh Em Gee, these are the new Bar phones that haven't even hit the market yet, these are made here? Nobody can get their hands on these. The waiting list is so long. I can't believe this." She babbled to a bemused Jack who felt rather pleased at the praise. "Can I have one?" She pleaded looking up at the tall man and somehow her eyes seemed to grow and shine with an unreal energy that made Jack want to concede.

He picked a phone from the line and tossed it to her. She caught it with a squeal of glee that brought an uptick to the inventor's lips. Her smile was so wide that it made his face hurt.

"That's right, Smith Innovations has just sent out its first shipment this morning and no supernatural battles will be able to slow the unstoppable force of progress." Jack boasted to the still ecstatic Kimiko who was clutching the phone to her chest like a stuffed animal. "Anyway, if you are looking for Jack you might have a little trouble if he can teleport away like he did earlier." Kimiko's face didn't so much as twitch at the news.

"We'll catch him, we always do, besides I know where he lives." She said before turning to leave the factory. "Goodbye Jacob thanks for the phone." She waved.

"Just tell all your friends you got it from Smith Innovations." He breathed a sigh of relief as she ran over to the other monks.

His relief was short lived however. Chase Young had arrived during the time he was distracted with Kimiko and he and the monks were having a tense standoff while the two groups talked. Wuya stood back observing the situation as Kimiko rejoined her group calling out to them loudly.

"Jack has all the Wu and is using the Golden Tiger Claws. He could be anywhere." The monks groaned at her pronouncement before flying off on Dojo the dragon.

"Hardly anywhere, I can sense the use of the claws when he activates them, and he will have to sleep eventually." Wuya said silkily to a frowning Chase Young.

"Spicer has made his last mistake, when I hunt him down he will pay for his audacity." Chase spoke with finality before turning to leave.

Jack and Wuya's eyes meet and a momentary confusion passed over her face before she smirked at him and left with Chase.

The genius had a major problem on his hands. If Chase and Wuya could track the usage of the Golden Tiger Claw they would be led right to the college where copy Jack was. He needed to draw them away from there but even if he did that it would just mean he would be confronting them himself and the inventor had no way to defend himself from a determined Chase Young. It would be easier to deal with the monks, at least they wouldn't kill him, and he knew right where they were headed.

Time for some Jack Spicer style diplomacy.

Shedding his disguise as Mr. Smith, Jack grabbed the bag of Wu unshrunk his robots and left Phil in charge to take care of the factory before tiger clawing his way home to hopefully meet the monks.

Sure enough, just as he stepped through the portal he found himself wrapped in a lasso, courtesy of the blond cowboy Clay.

"Looks like I caught me a rustler. Hello Jack." Clay's tone was decidedly unfriendly, and Jack decided that now was the time to get some good begging in before they started the beatdown.

"Please, it wasn't me, I was framed, it was all Panda Bubba. You believe your old pal Jack right." Begged Jack extra pathetically.

"I don't recall being pals with a no-good snake." Clay stated unmoved by the villain's theatrics.

"No, Clay you gotta help me buddy. Chase is after me and he's gonna kill me. You have to protect me you guys are the good guys right, stopping evil from viciously attacking defenseless geniuses." Jack tried to do the large eye begging thing he had seen Kimiko do, adding a few tears to really sell it.

The large cowboy sighed in resignation, but Omi jumped in with hostility Jack hadn't seen in him before.

"No, Jack Spicer is evil, and cannot be trusted we should leave him to Chase Young, they are probably working together to trick us." The yellow monk accused.

"Woah Omi, no trick I even have a big bag of Wu, all for you if you protect me." Jack tempted waving the bag around which was quickly snatched away by the brunette Raimundo.

"Oh, looks like quite a selection here. Ok we'll help you." He said with an easy smile.

"What?! How can we trust this deceiver, this fiend, this evil!" Omi shouted while the other two shrugged and packed the tiger claw in with the rest of the Wu and boarded the dragon.

"Come on Omi, its just Jack." Raimundo said while gesturing to Dojo's tail. "Better hold on Spicer, it can be a bit bumpy in the back."

Internally Jack grimaced, whenever he had to ride Dojo in the past the monks had always gone out of their way to make the trip as uncomfortable as possible, but he wasn't going to push his luck just now after getting what he wanted.

"Thank you." Jack clutched at Raimundo's robes tightly in mild revenge and the monk brushed him off.

"Whatever, lets go." And go they did.

Jack held on as they began their journey to the monk's temple. Chase and Wuya arrived just as they were taking off, lured by the portal Jack had opened.

Oh shit, Chase looked mad.

The flight was just as uncomfortable as Jack had feared but he managed to hold on for the entire flight. He would really have to improve on the helipac that was his primary means of flying, it just wasn't fast enough, but now wasn't the time for improving his inventions, he was being chased by an angry dragon man. Blasphemy, there was always time for inventions.

They had left Chase behind for now, but it was only a matter of time before he showed up on the doorstep of the monks looking for Jack. The temple sat in a lush field of greenery on top of, and surrounded by, mountains. A river flowed from a high peak running right along the walls before finally ending in a scenic waterfall right out of a wish you were here post card. The temple was a beautiful piece of architecture that looked like it belonged in some rich city instead of secluded away from civilization like it was. Pure white walls topped with blue curving roofs trimmed with gold wouldn't have looked out of place in the wealthier spots in China.

They landed, and Jack made his way inside to await the inevitable confrontation with Chase. It would not be a pleasant experience but if he blamed the whole thing on Panda Bubba then he could probably redirect some of Chase's anger away from him. He wasn't going to get away from this unscathed but when the dust settled he would be fine, just like he always was.

The monks were also preparing for a confrontation in their own way though they had less riding on the outcome than Jack did. Omi would glare at him and ignore him in turns, while Kimiko and Clay seemed content to pretend that he didn't exist. Raimundo, on the other hand, looked at him without hostility, rather he had a curious expression.

"So Jack, you had a huge fight with Panda Bubba. He is ruthless. He had the Wu. He had every advantage, and yet here you are with a bag of Wu and a sob story. How did that happen?" Raimundo conversed casually, as if it wasn't an accusation.

"So what, I'm great." Jack defended. "It was easy, all of Bubba's goons were chumps I won easily with my mad skills." Jack gesticulated wildly for emphasis on just how mad his skills were, but the monk didn't look swayed.

"Right, whatever you say Jack." Rai's eyes hardened as he came to a conclusion that Jack couldn't begin to guess.

Just as he was about to question the odd behavior of Raimundo, a commanding voice pierced the air.

"Surrender Spicer to me and this need not come to blows." Chase emerged from the shadows of an outcropping of rock, as if he had simply materialized there, and maybe he had, it wasn't like Jack knew all of Chase's tricks.

"Nah, that ain't gonna work, see coming to blows seems like a pretty good idea from where I'm standing." Raimundo boasted never losing his conversational tone.

Chase let out a low guttural growl and behind him a number of large cats appeared out of the shadows in the same manner Chase had, transforming, even as they approached, into warriors that Chase had collected over the years. The monks took battle formation and Jack hopped back keeping his eyes locked on Chase who was staring right back.

"C'mon Chase aren't you going a little overboard here it was Bubba who stole your Wu not me, have mercy." Jack raised his hands in surrender as he tried to placate the ancient warrior.

Chase's cat warriors had fully changed into their human forms and each was marking one of the monks while Chase walked towards Jack.

"I don't care about the Wu Jack." Chase said confusing the hell out of Jack.

"I don't care about that fool Panda Bubba." Chase was getting closer now and Jack backed up, never turning his attention away from the approaching man.

"I am going to get rid of you, once and for all." The statement might as well have been, the sun will rise tomorrow, or, the grass is green, for all the emphasis Chase put on it. Like it was simple fact.

Chase charged forward to strike him down, but he was blocked by Omi who had broken away from his fight to engage Chase. They fought furiously for a moment and Jack took the opportunity while no one's attention was on him to activate a stealth device and render himself invisible.

Chase gained the advantage over Omi for a moment and tossed him back for his warriors to fight, only then noticing that Jack had disappeared.

"See I have noticed something about you Jack that I don't think the others have, you are far more dangerous than you let on, and if I don't take care of you now you will definitely cause trouble for me down the road. You are a liar and a manipulator, even now you have the monks, chosen warriors of the xiaolin, fighting for you, a heylin agent. You had the invisibility technology that Bubba used to rob both sides and then, when he had served his purpose, you took him down, taking all the Wu for yourself and achieving whatever hidden agenda you might have. Then only when I start chasing you down do you run to the monks with tears and bribes to protect you, and they do because they have been fooled by your pathetic act. A weak man can kill a strong one if he has the opportunity. There will be no more opportunities for you Jack." Chase spoke while he locked in on the invisible Jack's location.

Crap, Chase was really going to kill him. Jack did his best to move silently but Chase was still somehow zeroing in on him. He noticed a flaring of Chase's nostrils, was he smelling him?

Jack made his way to the river hoping the rushing water would help to mask and scents and sounds he made that would give him away but, even as he moved, Chase's gaze never strayed from his general location as he stalked steadily closer to the cornered genius. Standing with his back to the current, Jack activated the second function of his cloaking device, creating a hologram of himself directly in front of him. Just as he hoped Chase focused on the false image.

"You accept your fate in the end, wise choice." Chase said blankly.

"Please don't kill me Chase, I'll do anything. I really am pathetic. Please, just let me go." Jack said from directly behind his image while the projection mirrored his movements perfectly.

Chase's face curled up in a sneer and he struck out, committing himself to a killing blow to end Jack. The genius had been waiting for that exact moment and when Chase's arm passed through his hologram Jack struck with his taser at full charge to Chase's neck. Not letting up, Jack used the full strength granted to him by his suit to repeatedly strike the convulsing Chase Young.

Though Jack was not as skillful as Chase or the monks, skill was not necessary here and he was strong thanks to his suit. Jack hammered his fists into Chase who hit the floor. Jack rushed to strike at Chase's prone form, but he couldn't move forward. There was an odd warmth in his chest and Jack looked down to see a clawed scaly arm piercing through his suit and into his chest, destroying his heart. Chase's face and body morphed into a draconian monstrosity as he stood raising Jack into the air, skewered on his arm.

"A trickster to the very end. Goodbye Jack." And with that the dragon man tossed the still form of Jack Spicer into the river where he was carried off.

Jack felt his world grow cold, then warm. Darkness claimed him and Jack knew no more.


	14. Chapter 14

Jack had just gotten back from his test, which had been a display of his metallic ball shooting machine and settled onto his couch to unwind and play some zombie destroyer four, when his buddy Chad walked in sat down and picked up the second controller.

"So, what was up with that vortex that spat out a doppelganger of you that abducted and melded with you earlier today?" Chad chatted, blowing the head off a zombie.

"I dabble in magic on the weekends." Jack responded, button mashing his way through the low-level hordes.

"Cool, like so you can split yourself in two and teleport and stuff?" Chad continued.

"Eh, it's a work in progress. I'm really better with machines but I have some magic doodads that can do some neat stuff." Jack clutched his head as a sudden influx of memories hit him from his copy.

"Whoa dude what's wrong?" Chad asked concerned.

"I died." Yelled a disgruntled Jack.

"Nah you got a few hits left, just bust open a wall and eat some chicken to regain your health." Reassured Chad.

"No, the dopple-me that abducted me this morning just got killed by an immortal Kungfu warrior who turns into a dragon. He stuck his scaly arm right through my chest. I just got the memories back." Jack returned to the game, killing zombies more aggressively than before.

"That sucks." Chad commiserated.

"Yeah, and I lost my best suit." Jack pouted.

The two of them spent a while in silence slaying zombies while Jack pondered his new situation. He had known that what he was doing was dangerous, that was just part of villain life. Still, he had thought he could avoid any true death threats by playing down his abilities and making himself seem harmless. It hadn't worked, obviously, and Chase had seen through him. Chase and the others all thought he was dead now. That would give him time to build up power and take his revenge on the immortal murderer.

"So, is this dragon guy going to be gunning for you?" Chad broke the silence.

"Nope, he thinks I am dead as a doornail. That means I have time to build up my robot army and storm his castle in the wastelands." Jack confidently stated.

"Aren't robot armies expensive." Chad queried.

"The good ones yeah, and I'll need a good one to take down Chase Young, but I just started production on a hologram cellphone that is selling like hotcakes. No more mooching off mom and dad for this evil genius." Jack boasted.

"You mean the new bar phone, that's you? Cool that's the second biggest piece of news buzzing around lately." Chad said impressed.

"Only the second, what could be a bigger deal than a holographic cellphone?" Jack questioned.

"Tony Stark got kidnapped in Afghanistan while he was demonstrating his new missile." Chad informed.

"No way, the merchant of death is my evil hero, he has got the whole US army in his pocket. Who would even be crazy enough to try and kidnap him?" Jack denied.

"Dunno, and I though Victor von Doom was your evil hero." Chad accused.

"What, a guy can't have more than one evil hero?" Jack defended.

Chad raised his hands in mock defeat and the two got back to their game.

"So how did you get into the whole magic thing?" Chad said, turning to a new topic.

"A few years ago, my dad got me a cursed puzzle box that contained the soul of an ancient witch. When I opened the box, she popped out and convinced me to hunt down a bunch of hidden magical doodads. I have been studying magic for a few years now and I have figured out a few tricks, though I don't have any magic myself. I, kinda sorta, figured out a way to get some magic for myself but I would need to get my hands on a witch or wizard and drain them." Jack confided.

"What about that witch you were talking about." Chad asked.

"Wuya lost her power. I know a bunch of magic users but they either have no power now or would kick my butt without breaking a sweat." Jack lamented.

"Man, I know where a witch you could drain is. My dad works as an orderly at Ravencroft Asylum and there is this crazy girl there that can like melt walls and stuff." Chad confided.

"Awesome I will have to break in sometime, thanks dude." Jack said gratefully.

"No problem." Chad accepted the praise gracefully.

Jack gripped the Ring of Nine Dragons and concentrated. The secret to getting a clone that could function as well as the original was the intent of the user at the time of activation. He poured himself into the ring, focusing on being in two places at once, and the ring activated popping out his duplicate. Which was the real Jack? Both? Neither? The truth was it didn't matter.

His double looked a bit gaunter than usual. Probably from being killed. He should avoid that in the future.

"Ah man, I lost my helipak. That was a gift from my granny when I turned evil." His copy wailed.

"That sucks man." Chad said.

"Thank you, Chad." His copy said politely.

"All right, I have to go plan my revenge, I'll send the car back with a robot." With that his copy made his way out of the dorm room.

"Drive safe." Chad called after him.

"Have you ever stopped to think that life is a little strange?" Jack questioned.

Chad set down his controller and pondered for a moment before he answered. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Nope. I think that's just you." Chad then picked up the controller again and resumed killing the undead.

"Huh, really." Jack said turning his attention back to the game.

The two played for a while before Chad called it a night leaving Jack alone. He decided to turn in for the night as well. Class started early tomorrow, and he hadn't been getting enough sleep lately, but that was just part of life for a college student. Well that and not getting enough good food. Maybe he could get Lara and Lucy to invite him over for another homecooked dinner.

Jack fell asleep thinking of food, diligently ignoring the phantom ache in his chest.

* * *

Jack's thoughts were of revenge on the trip back to his factory. Chase had killed him. How were you supposed to respond to that? He could try to kill Chase but, beyond how challenging fighting him was, the man had some sort of immortality that Jack didn't quite know the extent of. He had been alive for more than fifteen hundred years. Surely, he had taken some lethal blows in that time. The inventor would build a special prison just in case. Chase could lament his ways for the next thousand years trapped in a box.

First, he needed a way to beat him, and for that he would have to go to his lab rebuild his guard-bots and construct an overwhelming attack force to show Chase just how right he was to be wary of Jack Spicer.

He drove up to the factory and though the sun was setting the building was alive with activity. He strode inside and was immediately greeted by Phil who had kept things running smoothly in his absence, geez he hadn't been gone for a day.

"I need to be stronger Phil." Jack said plainly.

"Of course sir, and how may I assist you in this?" Phil awaited.

"First of all, I need to begin repairs on my guards, how do they look?" queried Jack.

"I had repairs done on the bodies, but I am afraid that without you only cosmetic damage has been fixed, I don't know the extent of the internal injuries." Phil reported.

"Well let's take a look." Jack said but in order to even attempt the repairs he would have to shrink.

Where were the Changing Chopsticks? Had he lost them when he died, no he had given all the Wu to the monks, did they have it? Jack thought furiously before he grabbed his hat activating his pocket dimension. It had grown slightly since he had introduced the plant, and the energy felt cleaner than it did after Skurge's short imprisonment. Still it was only the size of a small room, it could still be classified as a closet. The air in the hat felt pure and refreshing and Jack felt himself instantly calm. He looked at the floor and sitting there, right where he had tossed them, were the chopsticks.

Jack grinned in triumph and sealed the hat once more still feeling refreshed. He donned one of the flight apparatuses used by his common Jack-bots, once more mourning the loss of his helipak, and shrunk down entering the body of Leo the guard-bot.

The damage was bad, but the central processing unit was still there, if not undamaged. Normally this would be pointless to try and fix, but Jack was a genius and he had been considering the problem since his guards had been destroyed. His mind turned to the red chip he had made, based on the Heart of Jong, that was the basis of Phil's brain. It was a curious device and perhaps his greatest success. It spread through the body of Phil latching on to his computer brain and turning it into something a bit more alive, if he used the chips on his guards they could possibly repair the damage and retain all the training, or they could end up as infants without the advantage Phil had of being designing to utilize the chip to its fullest potential. He would just have to try it and see what happens.

The inventor exited the body of Leo and checked the condition of the others, none of whom were in worse shape than Leo. He had Phil fetch the chips from the minilab back at his house and his assistant seemed excited at the concept of bringing more of his creations to life, maybe he wanted to be a big brother?

The next thing Jack did was modify one of his antigravity flying platforms into another flight pack for himself. If he was honest with himself this one was better than the one he had been using for years, but his old one had sentimental value. The reason he couldn't use one of these for his guard-bots, or even Phil, was an issue of weight displacement. You could only lift so much with the technology he had now. That was the one of the reasons his mass-produced Jack-bots were so easy to destroy, they had to be light enough to fly, which the guards sadly weren't. He could work on that though, flying was too useful not to take advantage of.

Next, he considered the problem of his own personal weakness. The taser had worked beautifully but it just wasn't enough to save him against a monster like Chase. He needed more power. The first thing that came to mind was power armor, but he dismissed the thought. If he was going to make a suit of armor he would just make it a robot and have it fight for him. If he had been the one fighting in place of his guards, he would have been crushed by Bubba. Magic would be a useful defense if he could figure it out, and he was getting close. The uru ring was a goldmine of data for learning how to manipulate magical energy. Sadly, it seemed the metal the ring was made of was necessary in order to absorb magic but with a few tweaks he discovered he could halt the process using a pulse of foreign energy. In theory this pulse could be amped up and use to block an enemy from using a spell or any magic-based attack. He would call it the anti-magic pulse, if it worked.

He could fit the anti-magic pulse into a glove in his left hand and a new taser in his right but that still wasn't enough to save him from someone like Chase. What he really needed was a surefire escape method. His cloaking device could be fitted to a belt and, coupled with a redesigned silent flight suit, he should be able to escape into the air invisibly.

Jack smiled as designs for his new suit ran through his mind. Yes, this would work just fine.

* * *

Jack was making improvements to the bodies of his guards when Phil returned with the red chips. When they were up and active again they would have inbuilt flight packs, shrinking and unshrinking, cloaking tech and overall increased durability. They were too heavy to fly at full size, but the boost of the flight pack could rocket them forward at great speeds while running and when they shrunk down they would be able to buzz about like the world's fastest bees.

Phil handed Jack four red chips and the inventor opened a port on the head of Leo. The Jong chip fused with the metal of Leo the instant Jack placed it in the port. A red light spread from the chip and lines of red, like mechanized veins, spread throughout the body causing burnt out wires to hum to life with new energy running through them. The irises of Leo's eyes began dilating rapidly as a red glow sparked his pupils before fading and his eyes came into focus as they swiveled and landed on the form of his creator.

Leo's mouth opened and shut rigidly several times before it curved into a more human expression, confusion.

"What do you remember?" Jack asked his newly alive creation.

For a moment it seemed like Leo wouldn't answer or simply couldn't understand the question, but then his guard's face hardened into a frown.

"I was destroyed in battle." Leo's voice still had a metallic tone possessed by all his robots, save Phil, but there was something new that wasn't quite so robotic anymore.

"That's right Leo, you and your brothers were broken when we were attacked." Jack supplied for the awakening Leo. "What else do you remember. Tell me everything." Jack ordered while Leo adjusted himself into a sitting position, rubbing his head.

"My brothers? It was our mission to protect our master, Jacob Smith. We trained for years and fought and struck down our master's enemies until we were attacked in force. We fought hard, but an invisible foe struck down one of my brothers. Without my brothers I am weak. Without me, my brothers are weak. We fell one by one and were destroyed for our failure." His voice grew harsh, the metallic sharpness growing more pronounced as he clenched his jaw.

"You did not fail. Thanks to the efforts of you and your brothers I was able to strike my enemy down, and because I won I can repair you now." Leo's face seemed to melt in relief and he suddenly appeared much more human.

"Thank you master, but what of my brothers. Are they alright?" Leo's voice had a deep respect as he addressed Jack and the genius was thrilled with the success.

"You are the first I have awoken. Shall we do the same for the others." It was more a statement than a question though Leo nodded his head decisively in the affirmative anyway. Leo bowed his head as Jack began inserting the Jong chips into the other three guards.

"Thank you, Master Jacob." Leo said as the lines of red spread through the bodies of the three still inanimate robots.

Jack watched in fascination as not only did his guards come to life but some of the damage that was still present began to patch while a red glow left the metal pristine before it faded. Leo watched the spectacle with a mute awe while Phil was shaking with restrained excitement and anticipation.

Jack had expected them all to react similarly to Leo when they awoke which was why he felt comfortable giving them all the chip at the same time. He was mistaken, Mike, after he had a moment to get his bearings started apologizing for his failure at being destroyed first and was being reassured by Raph who looked uncomfortable patting the shoulder of his distraught brother. Don was examining the lab curiously as he fiddled with a device that Jack had been using to repair some of the worse damage suffered by the four.

"Brothers, we were defeated." Leo said and the other three's attention all turned to him. "But we still live, and we will make sure that we never lose again." Leo finished and the others all nodded decisively at his words.

"Before anything else you have all been freshly repaired and we need to test to make sure you are all at one hundred percent." Jack said before the four could do anything else.

"Yes, Master Jacob." Came four simultaneous replies.

The inventor could get used to that.


	15. Chapter 15

Life changed drastically after he brought his guard bots to life. He had of course considered that the Jong chips would give them personalities, but he hadn't expected such a humanlike result. They were acting like children and though they called him master, Jack couldn't shake the feeling that they were really saying father. They were all so different from each other too. Maybe it was because he had designed each of them to serve a unique function or maybe it was just a quirk of fate but each of the four had distinct personalities that grew more pronounced by the day.

Mike seemed to be the most outgoing never wanting to be alone and always partaking in some activity to occupy his attention, bugging his brothers until they would play games with him. Jack had given him a video game system to play with, so he could make friends online, and Mike had taken to it like a duck to water. He was quickly becoming a charming and funny, if slightly too enthusiastic, guy who could greet you as a stranger and walk away your friend.

Leo was the closest to what he had been expecting when he had brought a guard-bot to life. He was hard working serious and cared about being a warrior, but he too had quirks. He became frustrated with the others who didn't spend as much time honing their skills as he did. He was constantly trying to corral his brothers into training with him, a task at which he usually succeeded for they all retained a passion for combat, though Don was more resistant than the others, not because he didn't want to train but because he was so focused.

Don threw himself into his studies with a single-minded determination that impressed Jack. Of all his creations, including Phil, Don seemed the fastest to grasp the intricacies of his work. He was currently devouring all the literature he could get his hand on about programming languages and he seemed to have an intuitive grasp on how mechanical parts came together. Jack felt like he had answered more questions in the days since he had activated Don than he had during his entire college career, and Don soaked it all up like a sponge. He was still ignorant about many scientific principles, but Jack had high hopes for his science minded son, uh creation.

Jack didn't know what to do about Raph. He was the most expressive of the four and was less satisfied with the situation than his brothers. He wanted to get out of the factory and into the world. He wanted to live life and fight his enemies. He was also the most accommodating of the lot of them. He would play video games with Mike without a fuss, he would train with Leo even when it was just the two of them and he would listen to Don talk about what he was reading even if he didn't understand. Jack felt he was doing wrong by Raph not letting him have his own life out in the world, but they were still so new. They didn't know how to blend in the with the public without simply hiding entirely, save for perhaps Mike. He would need to figure out some way to socialize them.

All of them were incredibly energetic. There wasn't a moment of peace since he had brought them to life. Thank god for Phil who had taken a dominant role in the life of the brothers. He was having a wonderful time ordering around the new additions to the family and had become a stern authority figure in their lives.

The situation had become far more similar to gaining children than creating more robots and Jack was thrilled with the results, though he would probably put off making more Jong style robots for an indefinite period of time. Creating new intelligent life wasn't something to do lightly after all but it never crossed the inventor's mind to regret it.

"Master Jacob." Raph called out to him drawing him from his contemplation. "We have been cooped up in this building for over a week. We need to get out of here and get something done or what is even the point of all this training?" Raph was almost pleading though he kept his tone even.

"Hm, so you want to get out into the world, alright gather your brothers and I will send you out on a mission." Raph broke out into an excited grin and bowed quickly before running off to find the others.

"Are you sure they are ready to go out on their own." Phil said, appearing at Jack's side in a soundless way he had been perfecting. "They have never been out without supervision before." Phil fretted.

"They are growing more independent by the day, they need to learn how to operate on their own or I will only be hindering their potential." Jack said seriously. "Besides I am not sending them out to fight Chase or anything, they will be fine with a simple information gathering expedition." Jack finished.

"Who's Chase?" Mike said jumping down from where he had been hiding in the rafters.

"My greatest enemy at the moment, Chase put his hand through my chest and left me for dead, you are not ready to face him. I need to prepare before I retaliate. Fortunately, he thinks he succeeded in killing me, so we can afford to be patient." Jack explained.

They were joined by the others who all had a hard look about them as they overheard the conversation.

"If we aren't going after this guy then what are we doing?" said Don who trailed in behind Leo and Raph.

The four stood in formation in front of Jack who addressed them.

"You four will be going on an information gathering trip to Ravencroft Asylum. Rumor has it one of the inmates possesses potent magical abilities. Your mission is to enter the facility and gather as much information about the witch of Ravencroft as you can and return here undetected. I won't be accompanying you this time." Jack ordered the four.

The sense of excitement at their job was palpable and only Leo was able to keep the excitement from his face as the others grinned and cheered. The four vanished into the night to accomplish their task, Jack smirking after them as they left.

"Is it wise to send them out on a stealth mission? Their purpose was to be warriors and defend you from your enemies." Phil queried curiously.

"They have grown considerably from how I had originally made them Phil. They could become anything, but they need to have a variety of experiences to draw from if they are going to reach their full potential. You are growing as well Phil, is there anything you want to experience, any goal you want to reach?" Jack said considering his assistant.

Phil paused in a pensive silence as he considered his boss's question.

"I want to serve, but I find I also quite enjoy being in charge, organizing things, giving orders and having them be followed. I want more of that." Phil confessed seeming almost sheepish about his desires.

"Alright Phil I have a task for you as well. I am now making a substantial profit from Smith Innovations. I am giving you unrestricted access to my funds. You made a construction company on paper when we rebuilt our home called Irons Construction. Take whatever resources you need. Hire a crew, actual humans not just Jack-bots, and make Irons Construction real and profitable. Take the opportunity to gain the leadership skills you will need if you are going to aide me as my industry grows." As Jack gave the order to his assistant Phil grew very still.

"Of course sir, it will be done." Phil answered stoically though Jack could see a gleam in his eyes that betrayed his excitement, or maybe he was just imagining it, Phil was a hard guy to read.

On the business side of things events were proceeding better than he had dared dream. Jack had succeeded in making the production, packaging, sale and delivery of his invention completely automated. It required practically zero oversight and Jack was considering hiring staff to oversee the factory and moving on to other projects that required his attention. As a bonus he could avoid the reporters that had been scouting out the factory. The press was a good thing and he had been taking advantage of the opportunity to give interviews and tell the public that Smith Innovations was going to be far more than merely a phone manufacturer, but it seemed there was always someone who wanted his attention. He had even started construction of a Mr. Smith robot whose sole purpose would be to give interviews and do paperwork.

The demand for the phones had only escalated, he already had more orders than he could easily handle. He knew though that once the market reached peak saturation the demand for his product would die down, so he needed to spend this time of plenty expanding into new areas. Holographic technology was the future in many more markets than just communication after all and he would need a research and development department as well as marketing department for the whole list of products he would need to put into production while he was still raking in money from the phones. Getting Phil some experience running the construction company would not only net him a future source of income but prepare him for managing what Jack hoped would be a myriad of businesses all owned by him, and fortunately it seemed like his ever competent assistant would be up to the task.

He was also preparing the four newest additions to the Spicer family for his eventual revenge strike against the man who had tried to kill him. He had a special fate in store for the ancient magical warrior that he had stolen from the heroes of all people. When Wuya had taken over the world for a brief time, he had sent one of the monks back in time using his time machine, which was then immediately destroyed. Omi had retrieved a puzzle box from the man who had created all of the Shen Gong Wu, Dashi. This was the same kind of box that had originally trapped Wuya until Jack had opened it releasing her. Her second imprisonment had not lasted long, and when she was once again released she was reduced to a ghostly form. Jack had both boxes in his possession both and had been studying them to see if he could make something to imprison Chase.

It worked.

Jack had set his machines to absorb the ambient energy that was emitted by the most secure prisons in the world and was using the collected energy to power the machines he was using to engrave his own version of the puzzle box. The wood he used was still living and absorbed the magic greedily becoming the first magical artifact Jack had ever made. He knew that it would imprison Chase and Chase alone, and it would only work if he was the one to wield it. There was also a caveat that their must be a way to release Chase from the box or the magic wouldn't be nearly as strong, it had to do with the nature of curses and maintaining a balance. Jack understood that to make a curse hold there needed to be a way to break it and, in his box, the one able to free Chase would have to be pure of heart and understand exactly who was imprisoned within. Jack figured that would keep Chase contained for a long time.

The inventor held the box in front of him as he examined his craftsmanship, it didn't look anything like the ones that had imprisoned Wuya, but Jack wasn't Dashi. The original box had been a work of art with colorful interlocking panels that had to be shifted in a certain order to release a hidden latch. His box was covered in inscriptions. On the lid was a mathematical formula, an equation and beneath that a simple number lock. If you solved the equation you could fill out the number and open the box releasing Chase. Even if Chase was freed however he would still be reduced to a powerless ghost able only to influence others with his words. Jack would have to make sure it was impossible for Chase to get his body back the same way as Wuya did, but that was a problem for after he captured him.

To do that he needed to fight both Chase and his army of cat warriors, which he hadn't been able to do even with the aid of the monks. He needed an extra bit of firepower before he could strike at his enemy and hopefully draining the witch of Ravencroft would give him the edge he needed.

Jack set the box on his work table and started construction on a new type of robot, a genius' work was never done.

The four brothers accomplished their task beautifully returning with a wealth of information on the mysterious witch. Her name was Wanda Maximoff and she had been dumped in the asylum when she was only seven by a family that couldn't handle her strange powers. She displayed the ability to cause a variety of things to happen in her vicinity through magic she channeled through hand movements. She had been a resident of Ravencroft for ten years and had made frequent attempts to escape that had been growing more successful until someone new entered the scene. She had recently started having sessions with a psychiatrist by the name of Xavier who was calling her a mutant. Obviously, the man had never heard of magic. Oh, and her birthday was tomorrow, she was turning seventeen.

Jack congratulated the four on a job well done and made preparations for his meeting with Wanda. It wouldn't do to make a bad first impression on the birthday girl.


	16. Chapter 16

-Wanda Maximoff-

Her hands were bound so tightly she couldn't move her fingers.

They were always bound now. She could barely remember eating anything that didn't come through a straw. It wasn't always this way. When she had been very young she had a family. Then, she had been able to eat food with cutlery in the company of her father and brother.

There wasn't a mother in the scene, but maybe she just couldn't remember properly.

She hated all of them.

Even mother.

If she had a mother.

They had thrown her into this room to rot away to nothing, hoping she would just disappear. Well she wouldn't vanish nor, would she forget.

She stared at the bindings that completely enveloped her hands. For years she stopped believing there was anything inside of the wrappings, surely the cloth and leather straps had always been sitting at the end of her arms, that was simply the way it had always been, but then she would catch a glimpse of one of the men who guarded the cells.

None of their hands were bound, it wasn't normal.

Then she would remember sitting around a table eating with her family and she would be happy for a moment.

The moment was always ruined by the memory of her father watching without expression as she was dragged into this awful building screaming to be saved, her brother holding his hand doing nothing.

She hated all of them.

No mother in those memories.

Maybe she didn't exist after all.

She focused on where her hands should be and concentrated. She could feel power build up around her unseen fingers.

It was always growing stronger.

She was always growing stronger.

She had slipped free of her bindings once and unleashed her strength to escape the hospital. She had felt invincible and yet had been struck down by the tranquilizers wielded by the staff. She carefully plotted her next escape attempt but was foiled by a new obstacle.

A man had started visiting her.

Xavier.

He was wonderful.

She hated him.

He was the only one who would talk to her. He promised her things. He said he would get her out of here, but it had been months and he kept saying the same thing.

Not yet.

When was yet?

He said it was too risky.

That she was too angry.

She would never stop being angry for what they had done to her.

He would never get her out.

She still liked to talk to him though. Even if he was a liar. He was nice. He said that he ran a place for people with power. Xavier called them mutants. He said that he had a place for her. He talked about things like going outside and school and friends.

His words were like honey, and she wanted them to be true.

Everything sounded nice when he said it.

He had power too, just like her.

He could do stuff to people's minds.

That was useful. If she could do that no one would be able to keep her locked up in here.

She felt good when they talked, he was probably using his power on her.

The bastard.

She had tried to pretend to not be angry, but he always knew when she was lying to him. He always knew everything.

Even her plan to escape. She had more guards now and if she got free of her restraints she would be tranquilized in seconds.

That was his fault.

She hated him.

Yet she couldn't stop herself from liking him.

She would just have to be patient. Waiting for an opportunity, and when one presented itself she would burn through her restraints and escape this place.

Then she could finally take revenge.

Xavier said that revenge was bad, but he just didn't understand.

Revenge was her everything.

Good and bad.

Right and wrong.

Those things didn't matter.

The thought of her father suffering just as she had suffered was the only thing that kept her sane while she was trapped in this hell.

And she was sane, no matter what the doctors said. She was here because of her power not because of some mental illness, even Xavier said that if she could stop being so angry he would get her out.

He wouldn't say that if she were crazy, right?

Yes, of course she was sane. It was this place that was crazy.

It was her father who was crazy.

She remembered him vividly. His name wasn't her name.

He was called Eric Leshner while she had the last name Maximoff just like her brother.

Her father had powers too, just like her and Xavier.

A mutant.

Her father said he wanted to gather all the people with power together so that he could protect them from a world that would never accept them.

Everyone except for her.

She was the only one who didn't deserve his protection.

She remembered when they lived together happily. She was laughing with her brother Pietro over some long-forgotten joke and her father was smiling at them.

Her father and brother had the same white hair. Was she misremembering, her brother was only a boy, why would his hair be white?

No, they both had white hair because they were mutants.

Yes, that was right her brother was a mutant too, but he didn't have powers yet, not like she did.

She made things happen.

Bad things.

When she got nervous she couldn't stop herself from making bad things happen.

That was why her father threw her in here.

He feared her power.

He feared her.

He was right to be afraid.

When she got out of this place she would take her revenge. And no power on this earth would be able to stop her.

All she needed was the right opportunity.

She had a session scheduled with Xavier for tomorrow, it was apparently her birthday.

She remembered birthdays from when she was young. Having a birthday meant blowing out candles and getting a wish.

The thing she wanted most was to get out of here.

There would be no candles tomorrow, and she didn't believe in magic anyway.


	17. Chapter 17

Ravencroft asylum was an interesting place. It had housed the criminally insane for years, so Jack was a little surprised they had accepted a little girl as an inpatient. Until he investigated deeper and realized just what the place had become.

An asylum for super powered individuals.

He might not have noticed except that he recognized one of the names on the inmate list, Dr. Otto Octavious. The man had until recently been one of the leading minds in robotics research until he had gone crazy and welded some of his semi-autonomous robotic arms to his spine and went on a crime spree. He was captured by a guy called Spiderman who had popped up fighting crime about a year back and apparently had been thrown into Ravencroft. In fact, most of the super powered nutjobs that Spiderman took down ended up in Ravencroft according to the inmate list provided by the brothers, but that wasn't important for tonight.

Tonight, he would be sneaking into Ravencroft and only one of the inmates mattered. Jack invisibly approached a large iron gate artistically fashioned to read the name of the asylum in spindly lettering that had to have been made creepy on purpose. It was bound with a heavy duty lock that Jack ignored completely simply flying over the barrier, a tiny bug like machine following behind recording his night. Jack was taking the opportunity to have a test run for his new spybot. He had built the thing so that he could keep an eye on what his enemies were up to this one merely being a prototype. He had designed the thing to mimic a simple fly down to the fine details and it was normally about the size of a housecat, he had shrunken this one down and he couldn't tell it wasn't an ordinary insect even on close examination.

He landed on a walkway lit by old fashioned gas lamps that would have been charming in the daylight, but at night served to illuminate the looming silhouette of the Asylum.

It was perfect.

Whoever had designed this place had hit all the marks for a creepy haunted building. Jack bet that when this place went out of business, for its obviously unethical inmate treatment practices, middle school kids would be dared to sneak in for years to come.

It was only a minute to midnight and the only thing that could have set the mood better would be if it were a full moon. Unfortunately, he wasn't willing to put off draining a magic user for something like ambiance, no matter how cool it would have been.

Jack shrunk down as he approached the building and easily infiltrated the facility making his way past the general areas and into the halls where inmates were held. He soon found Wanda's cell among dozens of others. The door was air tight and had an alarm that would go off if he tampered with it. He would have to slip in through the airducts, but that posed little problem and soon Jack found himself looking down on the woman through the slates of a grate.

She was emaciated. Curled up in the corner staring at nothing. Long stringy black hair clung to her face obscuring her eyes from view and her sticklike arms wrapped around her legs as she curled into herself. Though his report said that she stood at 5'7 she couldn't have weighed more that ninety pounds. Yet she radiated a presence that drew the eye and Jack felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise as if in the presence of a predator.

He had found the right person.

Jack silently floated down and grew not releasing his invisibility, yet the moment he changed size the witch's eyes snapped to his position.

Jack had been planning to have a chat with the witch before he drained her anyway, so he deactivated the cloaking allowing her to see him.

Jack stood as tall as he did when he was Mr. Smith having not bothered to change his height after his last interview but instead of his fine business suit he was wearing a lengthened version of his usual lab coat. He still wore the hat that had become a part of his Mr. Smith persona because it was simply too useful to not take advantage of. He stood tall his hat nearly scraping the ceiling and looked down on the shocked Wanda.

"Who are you?" She snarled at the invader. "How did you get in here?" Jack looked down on her feeble form unimpressed.

Her file said she couldn't do any magic while her hands were bound and so far, that looked to be true. Still it would be wise to remain on guard.

"Hello witch." Jack began as he displayed the uru ring to Wanda who stared at the thing with confusion etched in her features. "This is a tool which can drain the magic from a target and allow the user to take it for themselves." Jack said running his fingers over the smooth metal.

Wanda froze at his words not even seeming to breathe and the air in the room became much heavier. Jack would have chalked it up to tension, but he could feel clearly that Wanda was emitting energy even if it seemed to be undirected.

"You think you can take what is mine!" She shrieked charging forward.

It was a pity. Jack had hoped that he could convince her that if he took her powers from her the hospital would let her go, as she was only being held because of the destructive nature of her abilities. It seemed that things would not be nearly that simple.

However, she was still a bound emaciated inpatient, while he was a man who fought dangerous foes on a regular basis. He sidestepped her clumsy charge easily and place the uru ring on her back as she stumbled forward, losing balance when she missed her target.

He activated the ring and prepared himself for the huge influx of power he could feel radiating from Wanda. He felt power begin to flow into him and he braced himself for an onslaught, but it stopped soon after it started. The magic he had gained was only a little more than what he would have gotten from draining one of his magic batteries. He could even feel it slipping away from him, though far more slowly than if he had drained a battery, and yet he could still feel energy radiating off of Wanda as she struggled to get back on her feet, clearly suffering from being drained.

Was she somehow blocking the draining process?

No, it didn't look like it. Jack doubted that she had a day of magical training in her life and he had succeeded in draining her, though to unsatisfactory results. She had a little magic, but Wanda wasn't using any. Her power was similar to magic but in reality, it was something else entirely.

Wanda's bindings took on a red glow before they dissolved, and she tore her hands free of their prison gesturing wildly towards Jack. A red bolt of energy flew from her outstretched hands but Jack who had been in many life threating situations simply stepped to the side watching the red energy splash against the cell wall. The panels began to melt and though Jack was fascinated by the phenomenon his attention was caught by the woman attacking him.

He swayed easily around her next attack, but this time her bolt caught the shrunken spybot he had floating behind him. Rather than being destroyed the machine bloated up into its actual size.

This unknown energy she produced could undo his shrinking, that was amazing.

What else could she do?

The thrill of new discovery filled him with fresh energy as Jack eagerly focused all his attention on the witch in front of him unaware of the mad grin growing on his face. She raised her hands again and this time Jack countered lifting his own gloved hand which released a pulse of energy.

The red glow of her hand faded as whatever it was she was doing was interrupted by his anti-magic pulse. So, her power could be blocked by his a.m. pulse. Was that because whatever she was doing was close to magic or was his pulse more versatile than he had initially suspected, maybe both?

She shrieked in frustration as her powers failed her. She rushed at him trying to claw at his face only to have her arm caught mid swing. She immediately moved to bite down on Jack's arm but with a sharp movement he tossed her to the floor where she crumpled raising her head defiantly before the fire in her eyes went out and she slumped in defeat.

Aww, was that all she had? He was eager to see what else she was capable of, but it seemed that the stressful flurry of activity had taken a toll on the malnourished woman.

"Are you going to kill me?" She said brokenly, snapping Jack out of his musings.

"Do you want to die?" She seemed shocked by his question and a bit of the fire that had burnt out returned to her eyes, though only an ember compared to the blaze of moments ago.

"No! but I don't have much of a choice in the situation, do I?" She spat venomously at the man who had invaded her cell.

"That is true. I could kill you, if I was of a mind to." She flinched at the blunt statement. "Oh, calm down if you panic every time a stranger breaks into your room while you sleep and kicks the shit out of you then you won't make it far in life." He said projecting his best attitude of non-hostility.

She didn't look at all reassured.

"What?" The woman seemed dazed as if she wasn't sure this was really happening.

"You know, I was just going to break in here drain your power and waltz out." Jack said ignoring her words completely.

He stalked towards the woman who had yet to stand. He towered over her downed form, yet she met his gaze unwaveringly.

Jack considered the stick thin figure in front of him. She wasn't like any witch he had ever encountered before. Both Wuya and Amora were knowledgeable and well trained in the mystic arts while this girl was young and seemed to generate her strange red energy and cast it at her target with little finesse. That simply wasn't how magic worked. In her file the man named Xavier had called her a mutant and Jack had dismissed it as simply misunderstanding magic, but what if it were true? Were there more mutants like Wanda who could generate the red energy? He wanted to know and fortunately he had a source of information lying right in front of him.

"Tell me Wanda, what do you know of mutants?" Jack said in a tone which wouldn't have been out of place if they had been having a conversation over drinks.

"Why should I tell you anything you bastard. Who the hell even are you?" She spat the words angrily at Jack, but his smile only grew friendlier, his entire body radiating an inviting warmth.

"Why how rude of me Ms. Maximoff. Here I am paying you a visit and I haven't even introduced myself or wished you a happy birthday. Many happy returns miss, you may call me Jack. As to why you should answer my questions, well I am a generous man and today is very special. How about you tell me everything you know about mutants and in exchange I will give you a birthday present?" As Jack spoke he maintained eye contact with Wanda and her aggressive posture began to give way to a more neutral sharp focus.

Jack knew how to talk to people who were hostile towards him. He possessed very expressive body language and had always had a talent for speaking. It had served him well his entire life. When he was on a roll Jack could get anyone to listen to him about anything and he could be very persuasive when he needed to be. Usually he used this talent to talk his way out of getting his head bashed in, but it was useful now for calming down the mad woman he had aggravated.

"Present?" The word slipped out of her mouth almost involuntarily.

The woman was guarded but her aggression from earlier was being replaced by curiosity buried under layers of suspicion. Ha, she could be reasoned with.

"Yes Wanda, you must want something." Jack swept his arms out gesturing widely as if he were offering the entire world. "Name it."

Her curious expression turned to a scowl.

"You're just another liar." She said quietly.

She didn't seem angry when she said the words, curiously she seemed more disappointed than anything, like Jack had somehow let her down. Well he couldn't have that, he felt insulted. Though he could be accurately described as a liar, her preemptive dismissal rubbed sorely against his pride.

"You doubt me." Jack clutched his chest as if her words had physically hurt him. "That is perfectly natural and fortunately I have just the means to prove my good intentions." Jack's right hand took on a soft blue glow and he held it out for her to shake.

One bit of magic Jack had experimented extensively with was the deal. He had used it against Bubba turning him into a Panda when he had gone back on his word, but the deal was far more versatile than that. What it did at its most basic was bind both parties to an agreement using a contract or a handshake. There were variations and with the magic he had taken from Wanda earlier he should be able to use one to convince her to talk.

"Shake my hand and know that tonight I speak only the truth." His words held a strange authority.

Wanda was staring transfixed by the glowing hand that was held out in front of her and she hardly seemed to be aware of her actions as she stood and took his hand in one of her own, gripping it tightly. Her own hand glowed red and for a moment the two colors wound about each other. When the contact broke Jack could feel the back of his hand thrum with her power and he instinctively knew he would be unable to lie until the night was over. He guessed from the wide-eyed stare that Wanda was giving him that she knew that too. He smiled widely at her and she averted her gaze, her eyes now fixing on her own hand.

"What was that?" She said with a reverence that transformed her entire demeanor into one of fascinated awe.

He felt genuine warmth towards the witch as he recognized what she was going through. It was the same feeling he had experienced the first time he had witnessed what magic could do. Watching her amazement over what he considered the simplest form of magic was strangely endearing.

"Magic, Wanda, that was magic." Jack said to the enraptured woman.

She snapped out of her trancelike state to stare at Jack.

"It felt different from my mutant power." She spoke quietly.

She might have been talking to herself the way she said it, but she was looking right at Jack and he took that as an invitation to steer the conversation back on track.

"There are two distinct power sources within you. One of them is magic, and the other. Well, I am curious myself about the power you possess. Tell me about mutants and I will tell you about magic." Jack promised.

Jack felt a pressure in the room and decided he would have to be careful about making promises tonight. She looked at him for a long moment and just as Jack thought she would remain silent she began speaking.

"I still get my present." She stated. "Anything I want?"

"Name it." Jack confirmed.

"I want lots of things. I want out of here. I want revenge." She hesitated before gaining confidence and continuing. "I want to go to school, I want friends, I want magic. Can you do any of that?"

She looked at him with such naked hope that Jack almost agreed without thinking but caught himself and smiled.

"All of that is possible, and for telling me about the mutants I will grant you the first." Jack paused as he considered if this was a good idea before mentally shrugging. "Your freedom."

Emotions warred across her face as she took in his words before her features hardened in determination.

"Okay." She said firmly. "I will tell you."

"Wonderful." Jack cut her off before she could continue. "But let's take this conversation somewhere a bit more cheerful shall we." Jack said brightly.

Jack whipped the top hat from off his head and willed it to open. The insides had been growing and as he studied the nature of portals he had been able to improve the hat further. The hole emitted a soft glow and when you looked inside you could see a garden as if you were peeking through a hole in a wall though the hat was in the center of the room.

Wanda stared at the portal with undisguised fascination and Jack grinned in pride.

"Your freedom." Jack said offering the hat to her opening first.

She examined the hole curiously, it was far to small for her to fit through and she tentatively reached her hand inside. Though the hole was only large enough to fit around her head she was able to reach in her arm and then her shoulder and then her whole body before she tumbled completely through the opening. The sight was impossible. She had never shrunk, and the hole had never grown yet still she had fallen through. Jack was quite proud of his hat, working with interdimensional physics was a challenge, but he was making breakthroughs every day.

He didn't want to leave her alone in there for too long, so he quickly left the asylum the same way he came. Then he instructed his spybot to take his hat and return to the factory before opening the portal once more and joining the witch in his garden.


	18. Chapter 18

The space inside his hat had grown greatly under the experimentation of Jack. He had discovered that it was a combination of life and magic that allowed him to grow an area outside of normal reality. He had experimented with mice and rabbits, but he was most pleased with the results he got from the plant life he had been cultivating within his personal dimension.

A small but meticulously cared for garden grew within the once blank room. He had dressed up his little slice out of reality to resemble a peaceful spring day. Jack had fashioned projections to make it feel as if his garden was sitting in the middle of a massive field of grass an expansive pure blue sky seemed to stretch for miles in all directions and a gentle breeze occasional passed through, but if you strayed from the center you would find that reality simply stopped several feet in any direction outside of his garden. The place used to stop at the garden's edge, but the room had grown since he had last tended the plants.

The air in this place carried a powerful sense of tranquility that was an unexpected side effect of his experiments with the plants. Jack found that they could purify magic. He had suspected that his fern had filtered the energy left behind by Skurge and sure enough when he began dumping energy he collected into water and fertilizer he found that his plants would happily convert whatever energy he could get his hands on into plant energy allowing the dimension to grow. This made for an amazingly relaxing room perfect for having a peaceful discussion.

Indeed, even Wanda appeared to be affected by the pacifying nature of the room. She was kneeling in the center of the garden and was stroking the fur of a rabbit named Blanco who was contentedly chewing on some lettuce. Blanco had been part of one of his earlier attempts to make the inside of the hat grow, and though the attempt hadn't worked Jack had kept him because he was cute.

The decision had paid off in an unexpected fashion as Wanda seemed content to play with the rabbit and not rip his garden apart while she was alone in here.

Jack smiled as he saw the look of peace on the witch's face. Her posture was one of joy and a small upturning of her lips melted away at the shadows of her stay in the asylum. The moment was brief and when she turned her head to face him the wariness and suspicion returned like a veil covering her emotions. Still, Jack counted what he witnessed as a point toward her not being irredeemably unstable. For now though, he had questions he wanted answered.

The garden was a far nicer place to have a conversation than the dingy cell she had been confined to, but he had never entertained guests in here before. Maybe in the future he would set up a table and chairs but for now he would just have to make himself comfortable. She was still kneeling with the rabbit in her lap, so he sat on the floor resting his back against the border of reality.

"Tell me about mutants, Wanda." Jack said as he stretched his legs out and relaxed.

Jack waited patiently for the witch to respond as he settled himself in for their chat. This place really was the best spot to unwind.

Wanda sat rigidly spine stiff and eyes locked on Jack not making a move. Jack was willing to wait for her to respond, especially considering it would be a while before his robotic minion could deliver the hat back to his factory. He had time to kill.

Jack felt the magic he had absorbed earlier that night continue to drain away. He had used a tiny bit already and if he didn't use it now he would lose the opportunity, but what to do with it?

There were only a few things one could do with such a small amount of magic, anything elemental like the monks used would burn through the reserves in an instant. Jack's trick with the deal relied heavily on the other person's power working against them so that took plenty of preparation and willpower, but little magical strength. What could he do right now?

Jack had an idea. He had been experimenting with various types of plants to see which worked best for purifying magical energy. He hadn't gotten far just yet but there was a bag filed with seeds from various kinds of plants that he could use. Pulling a seed at random Jack found a good spot and poked a small hole in the dirt with his finger and planted the seed. Rolling a small amount of dirt into a hill over the hole Jack cupped his hand and placed them on the ground directly over the seed. Concentrating, Jack controlled the small pool of power he had stolen from Wanda and used it to encourage the growth of a new plant. Once more his hands glowed blue and his magic flowed into the seed. For a moment nothing happened, and Jack was about to give it up as a failed experiment when the soil broke, and a sprout sprung from the earth. It quickly matured into a beautiful black and red flower that Jack recognized as a Dahlia.

Experiment successful. Jack was pleased.

As he lifted his head Jack saw that Wanda had been watching him work with undisguised curiosity. They met eyes and Jack smiled.

"I did say I would tell you about magic in exchange for you telling me about mutants, would you like me to go first?" Jack said starting their conversation once more.

She nodded seriously and Jack acquiesced. He was feeling agreeable after the success with the flower and knew that people had a tendency to share more when they were shared with.

"You have to potential to be a sorceress you know. You have the talent, and I don't mean your mutant abilities. That is a very rare gift, and those who have it often go untrained never realizing what they are really capable of." He hummed thinking what he wanted to tell her.

He knew the basics of many magical disciplines and with the guidance of Wuya had learned more of how magic worked than many actual practitioners, though he was unable to naturally use it himself. He could easily give a lecture on the subject of magic however a lecture wasn't what she needed to hear. Jack considered his audience and hummed in satisfaction, he knew just what to say.

"Can you feel it?" Jack queried causally as he focused on Wanda who looked confused. "The power contained in this place." He clarified.

Wanda nodded uncertainly in the affirmative but had yet to utter a word.

"Magic is the truest form of freedom and those who wield it are capable of anything limited only by their own knowledge. Magic at is most basic is an expression of the fundamental forces of the universe that, if harnessed correctly, can reshape reality to the will of the user." Jack stated falling into lecture mode.

Though he had intended to keep the conversation casual he couldn't help but fall into what he thought of as his classroom voice. The way Wanda was looking intently at him let him know he still had her complete attention, so he was probably doing fine.

"The gift you possess is a well of power that has formed naturally in your body, it taps into a fundamental force of the universe. I would have to spend some time with you to figure out which one, but most gifted people tap into the well of life energy that connects all living things. That isn't a hard rule though." He was starting to ramble he refocused on Wanda. "You only have a very small pool of power because you have never used it before, but like a muscle it will grow more powerful the more you exercise. If you practice and study you will be able to learn to create anything you can imagine, provided you have enough knowledge and power." Jack trailed off as Wanda's lips twitched downwards.

"All I can do is destroy." She said firmly with an air of resignation. "All I need is to destroy." She murmured more to herself than to Jack.

"Destroying things is fun too, and very possible with the use of magic." Jack agreed cheerfully. "And it is easier to destroy than to create if you don't feel you are capable." He said this factually, and the aspiring witch twitched in annoyance.

"My power always ruins whatever it comes in contact with." She stated almost defensively.

Was her mutant power based on entropy? Jack's curiosity got the better of him and he turned the conversation to the subject he was most interested in.

"Destruction can be useful too, have other mutants never made anything with their power?" Jack asked.

Wanda looked at him oddly but considered the question.

"Xavier made a school for mutants, but I don't know if he used his power to do it, he probably mind controlled anyone who got in his way." She answered.

Mind control? This Xavier guy was a mutant too? There was a whole school full of people like Wanda? How did he not know about this?

This was enough information for him to investigate and learn more about these mutants, but he was curious now.

"Can you mind control people?" Jack asked eagerly.

He would have to take steps to protect his mind from intrusion if there was an entire group of people who practiced mind control. He already had ideas on how to do that but for now Wanda had started talking.

"No, Mr. Xavier is the one with mind powers, I make bad things happen." She corrected him.

Make bad things happen, huh. That was a check in the box for controlling entropy, but that didn't explain how she had reversed his spybot's shrinking. He needed more information.

"So, all mutants have different powers?" Jack asked to confirm what she said.

Wanda looked pensive as she thought about the question, she really wasn't the best source of information because she had been locked up for so long, but she had told him more than enough to work with so far.

"I think so, Mr. Xavier and I have different powers. That man was different too he could control metal. There are others. I don't remember any of them being the same." She said thoughtfully.

So, there was a group of people with various powers out there who were calling themselves mutants, how interesting. Something else she had said caught his attention. Someone who controlled metal could pose a threat to Jack who relied heavily on his machines.

"Who is the man who controls metal?" Jack asked while pondering the problem not noticing right away that Wanda's entire demeanor had shifted.

The room lost a bit of its natural tranquility as Wanda's face darkened and she began radiating the red energy again.

"That man. My Father. He is the one. Unforgiveable." She had fallen to muttering while the energy she gave off intensified.

Wanda didn't seem to notice the effect she was having on world around her. The pleasant feel of the energy in the room had become corrupted by the witch and Jack was fascinated. Still he should put a stop to this before it escalated.

He fired his anti-magic pulse and the red aura that had been building around Wanda shuddered and dissipated aimlessly into the room to be soaked up and purified by his plants. Still, the atmosphere in his garden had changed and as Jack breathed in the air he felt like he had drunk a shot of espresso.

Wanda barley seemed to register that she had stopped emitting red energy, if she had even realized she was doing it in the first place. That could be an issue. She turned to him and it appeared like she had regained her lucidity.

"You said that you could give me revenge." Wanda demanded.

"I could. Revenge is a wonderful and satisfying thing when done properly. I have been thinking of taking some revenge myself, but I have already set you free, why should I keep helping you when I have nothing to gain?" Jack asked curiously.

"I have power, you said it yourself." She argued.

"Wanda, you have potential, but look at you. You have never studied the mystic arts before and would need to start from scratch. You will need to spend time recovering from your imprisonment both in mind and body, and you admit yourself that your mutant power is only good for destroying things." Jack pointed out ruthlessly.

Wanda looked frantic at being dismissed. Her power wrapped itself around her once more, but Jack merely broke it apart with another pulse of energy. The room had become thick with ambient power and Jack could feel it's influence pushing him to be more aggressive. He clamped down on his emotions with an iron control.

"What will it take?" She said through clenched teeth.

Jack stood over her. She looked very small even compared to his normal size, but he knew she could become powerful if given the opportunity.

"All you have to offer is your potential. Give that to me. Serve me and I will see that you grow strong. Prove to me what you can do. Heal your body and mind. Train and become someone who is capable of taking revenge and then I will make sure you succeed." Jack voice had taken on a strange power and the energy of the room seemed to wrap around him.

Wanda had a look of grim determination as she looked up to meet his gaze.

"Yes." From the tone of her voice she sounded like she was making a deal with the devil, and maybe she was.

Jack felt his hand burn and saw Wanda wince. He could feel that they had arrived back at his factory and he offered his hand to Wanda who didn't hesitate a moment before taking it.

"Welcome home Wanda, and Happy Birthday." He said leading his new witch out of the pocket dimension.

Jack opened the portal and they both stepped through, though it was far to small to fit them.

Left behind in the separate reality a red and black flower, that had been grown by magic, drank in the energy of the room. It glowed a pale blue.


	19. Chapter 19

Life rushed forward at a pace that left Jack scrambling to keep up. It had been two weeks since he had freed the witch from her padded prison and her recovery and growth was so rapid that Jack couldn't help but worry. Wanda wasn't like his robotic servants, she couldn't be trusted the same way Phil and the boys could. Added to that her less than healthy mental state and Jack knew he would have to keep up his guard up around her.

Chase's words came to mind, a strong man could beat a weak man if he was given the opportunity. It was good advice and Jack would be certain he didn't let Wanda do to much damage when she betrayed him, and Jack was certain she would. The witch was obsessed with taking revenge on her father and Jack didn't have the slightest clue where he was. He had Phil do a search for Eric Lenhsherr and his assistant nearly broke his composure when he reported to Jack that he had been unable to find anything.

He was keeping Wanda busy for now by filling her schedule with recovery exercises so that she didn't have a free moment. She had to wake up early and do what amounted to physical therapy supervised by Leo who spent that time training anyway and when she was too exhausted to continue it was on to school work prepared by Phil to bring her up to the level of education she should be at already. Then she had testing of her red energy, which she called hex bolts, with Jack himself.

Her mutant power was fascinating, and Jack just knew it would lead to breakthroughs in other areas. He suspected she was channeling chaotic energy from somewhere that had vast stores of the stuff, maybe a chaos dimension?

Until he perfected portal technology he had no way to verify his hypothesis. Also, opening a portal to a chaos dimension was probably a bad idea. He shrugged mentally he would burn that bridge when he came to it.

After all of that she should have been exhausted, especially considering her emaciated condition, but she still found the energy to ask Jack about learning magic. She had a rather intense glare and though Jack tried to maintain an air of power when dealing with her so that she wouldn't get any treacherous ideas, he still found himself on the receiving end. He could feel she was trying to probe him for any weakness that she could take advantage of. The whole interaction left Jack feeling like he was working with a tiger who would pounce if he showed his back.

He wrote a brief primer on how to use magic based on what he had picked up over the years. It was just a packet really, but he hoped it would keep Wanda occupied, and it did for a while, but in only a matter of days she was using minor elemental spells that would have burned through her reserves in an instant when she had been in the asylum.

After only two weeks, nurtured by her magic and a healthy diet, her body had become completely unrecognizable. No longer was she an emaciated corpse-like figure, instead she was developing the dangerously beautiful presence that all the witches Jack knew possessed. Phil had provided her with a wardrobe, she wore a long red overcoat similar in appearance to his lab coat and elegantly designed boots that added several inches to her height. All of this only added to Jack's original impression of her as a dangerous predator.

The changes weren't merely aesthetic either. Wanda improved her combat skills everyday by training with Leo, and occasionally the other boys. Though she was still inferior to Jack, her growth was nothing short of prodigious and she was catching up. She had started out clumsy unable to perform even basic exercises but now she was able to lightly spar with a training bot, which she had decorated with a white wig for some reason. Jack checked in on her progress occasionally and whenever she accomplished something new she would turn her glare on him until he left.

Her incredible growth extended to her mundane studies as well. Under the nurturing care of Phil, she had caught up several grades, at this rate she would be up to the level of her peers in a matter of months and Jack suspected she wouldn't stop there.

She was accomplishing all of this and Wanda still found time to corner Jack while he was working and question him about getting revenge on her father. He knew she would eventually run out of patience and strike out on her own if Jack didn't give her anything, but not only could he not find anything on Mr. Lenhserr, but Jack was preoccupied by his preparations to strike at Chase Young.

Jack was studying three screens at one of his workstations and the witch had once again walked up to him. Pretending he didn't notice her wouldn't stop the woman glaring at him, so Jack would have to talk to her.

"The largest obstacle in the path of success is opportunity." Jack voiced his thoughts on what Chase had spoken of before he drove his hand through Jack's chest. "If you want to accomplish anything first opportunity needs to exist. Then you need the intelligence to recognize opportunity when you see it, that is the part where many stumble and fail. Finally, you need the strength to seize that opportunity and make the most of it." Jack smiled at Wanda and her face tightened.

The inventor gestured to the screens he was looking at and Jack sighed internally in relief as she focused on them instead of him. Each one was running a live feed from spy flies that he had deployed to infiltrate and keep tabs on persons of interest to him. One of the screens showed the monks training at their temple while another was hovering in the office of Charles Xavier watching him do paperwork. The third was the one that interested Jack for it showed Chase Young and he seemed to be preparing for something big.

"The best opportunity for striking against a powerful foe is when their attention is completely occupied by a third party. My enemy is about to launch an attack against the Xiaolin monks, this could be the opportunity I need to take my revenge." Jack spoke his thoughts aloud.

The pale genius had been talking to Wanda but as he watched what was happening on the screens all thoughts of her fled from his mind. Jack geared up in his new suit which was filled to the trim with every trick he could build into it and called for Phil, who appeared next to him almost instantly. Jack didn't even blink as he had long gotten used to Phil's habit of popping up out of nowhere when called.

"It's time." Jack ordered.


	20. Chapter 20

Smith Innovations was a hive of activity as robots scrambled to get to their stations taking their directions from Phil who was controlling the chaos. Machine after machine entered the cargo hull of the personal jet Jack had made and though it only looked large enough to carry a half dozen people at most, over a hundred of his bots had entered. Yet the plane showed no signs of filling. This was because his minons were shrinking into a prearranged storage area the inventor had prepared for just this purpose. Jack could transport an enormous army on the rather small personal transport.

Jack himself sat in a passenger seat focusing on a screen that relayed feed from one of his spy flies.

He was watching a real-life drama unfold while his army mobilized. Chase Young had somehow abducted Omi and turned him into one of his enslaved cat warriors. Naturally the other monks had moved to free their comrade from the clutches of the dragon-man, but it seemed that Omi was being forced to fight against his friends. The situation kept escalating and Chase was completely occupied fighting with the monks over the fate of Omi.

Jack couldn't pass up this chance to move while Chase's attention was elsewhere, and he mentally urged his robotic minions to hurry and finish boarding. Soon enough they did, and Jack was joined in the passenger area by his boys and Wanda who strapped in while Phil entered the cockpit to pilot the plane.

They were headed to the wasteland which Chase ruled. It was a vast empty place called the land of Nowhere. Jack didn't know if it was a natural part of the area or something Chase had done but the land of Nowhere was inhospitable to anyone who entered. There was plant and animal life but any human who tried to take up residence was either chased out or killed. Jack knew that Chase had some way to control the land itself from a secure place in his castle and under normal circumstances he would not have dared to fly his plane into Nowhere without Chase's permission, or his enemy would have struck him out of the sky with a well-placed lightning bolt. Now that Chase was preoccupied though, he could sneak through without the reptile taking notice.

The genius suspected that Chase used some sort of control point in his castle to tap into the ley lines of Nowhere allowing him complete control over his domain. One of his primary targets was to shut down the control and rob Chase of that incredible power. After thoroughly spying in the castle Jack had deduced that the most likely thing to be the control mechanism was the throne, which Chase always sat at while he was influencing the land.

Jack was leaving that problem to Wanda, she wasn't up to the level needed to fight any of Chase's warriors head on and her red power had the ability to disrupt all magic it came in contact with. He would send her in with Phil to protect her while she hit his throne with all the power she could muster. She seemed oddly pleased when he gave her the job, she smiled and nodded though she immediately went back to glaring at him, ugh.

Omi had rejoined the other monks, though he was still a cat, and they were competing against Chase and his enslaved warriors in a game of magical soccer. Chase was winning but Jack wouldn't count out the monks just yet.

They traveled quickly and soon his jet passed through the border of the land of Nowhere. This was the moment of truth, if Chase noticed them they could be struck down before they even got close to the castle. The jet had entered stealth mode well before and Jack focused intently on the screen to see if Chase reacted to the invasion.

The monks had turned the tide at some point and Chase and his warriors were on the defensive. The heroes worked seamlessly as a team and pushed back the more experienced warrior striking him with several decisive blows, he had transformed into his reptilian form at some point which only illustrated how he was struggling against his opponents. Chase didn't seem to even twitch in response to Jack entering Nowhere.

Jack grinned, a wild glee entering his eyes. The flight would be over in a matter of minutes and Chase was being beat down by the monks, the situation was more perfect than Jack could have wished for. The monks stood victorious over the beaten dragon-man just as Jack's jet arrived at the castle.

Jack watched in person as the monks flew away on Dojo having recovered the stolen Omi. His army spilled out of the jet regaining their proper sizes and the genius considered the gate which blocked enterance to the castle. He was handed one of a set of specially prepared bombs by Phil and he threw it at the massive stone wall that separated his army from his enemy. The walls of Chase's castle stood over fifty feet in height and were strengthened by more than mere stone, but that didn't stop the bomb, which upon contacted with the surface of the wall detonated and bloomed into a perfect sphere of blue pulsing energy that was too bright to stare at directly. When the light faded a perfect sphere of nothing remained where the bomb had gone off.

"Attack." Jack ordered.

The robotic army of his dreams poured through the freshly opened hole in the castle's defenses. Unrestrained by money or space, Jack had been able to cut loose in terms of what he could make, thus this army was not one consisting of identical drones, instead Jack had been inspired by the success of his four Guard-bots turned sort of sons. He made squads of four very different functioning robots who would cover the weaknesses of the others to take down stronger foes. Serpentine machines armed with fangs that delivered a powerful paralytic slithered invisibly in the company of large gorilla-like bruisers who could hit hard and take damage from the enemy. Above them soared silver hawks who would pepper their opponents with projectile weapons and to finish the set slim monkey-like robots with powerfully built legs would utilized speed and maneuverability to make precision strikes on their targets, armed with paralytic coated blades an unsuspecting opponent would quickly be defeated.

Jack had built dozens of these squads to accompany his traditional drones and peppered through his forces were a handful of his robot doubles each of which was equipped with a hologram projector that would create false images of dozens more Jacks to further confuse the enemy.

For a single moment Jack wondered if perhaps it was all a bit overkill.

Nah.

As his army spread through the enemy base Jack stood back with his four warriors as well as Phil and Wanda. He watched Chase's reaction on the screen and chuckled as the dragon man raged. He had obviously noticed when his defenses were breached, and the man was pissed. He had reverted to his human form after the monks retreated but he had yet to fully recover from his loss, or perhaps that was just wishful thinking on Jack's part.

"Let's go." Jack said as he began walking towards the hole he had opened in the wall, following the path his troops had taken.

Beside him Phil strode briskly keeping pace with Jack while Wanda trailed after them. His four best warriors had vanished the instant he gave the word.

They would be hunting Chase.

Inside the walls was a scene of chaos, Chase had more enslaved warriors than the core group he traveled with and all of them had quickly responded to the breach in the wall. Metallic parts littered the floor and Chase's forces were falling at an only slightly slower pace. His regular drones were collecting the fallen bodies and putting them to the side where they wouldn't be trampled, Jack didn't want to kill indiscriminately.

A bobcat sprung at Jack only to be caught in the vice-like grip of Phil not managing to even get close to his target.

"Wanda could you give this guy a blast, I want to see something?" Jack requested.

Wanda was looking a little strained at walking through the battlefield but perked up at Jack's words and channeled her red energy into a glowing orb that she threw at the captured creature.

The cat writhed under the power of Wanda and its body jerked in an unnatural fashion before transforming into a lithe warrior. He looked frantic as he struggled in vain against the unyielding grip of Phil, shouting in a language Jack did not recognize.

That was interesting, the genius had never seen any of Chase's subordinates exhibit any emotion other than severe discipline and he had never heard one speak before, deciding to test a theory Jack motioned for Phil to release the former bobcat and looked the man in the eye as he pointed to the opening he had created for his army to pass through. The warrior's eyes were opened wide in fright darting from Jack to the exit before he bolted crossing the distance to the hole and running outside.

So, Wanda's chaos energy could even disrupt Chase's control over his slaves, that was very good news. He directed her to blast every enemy they passed who had already been subdued by his robotic minions, and soon there was a pile of paralyzed men and women where before there had been animals.

The fight was going in Jack's favor, the number and quality of his forces simply overwhelmed the inhabitants of the castle. Jack made his way to the throne room, Phil and Wanda following, as he occasionally checked his screen to check up on the position of Chase Young.

His reptilian foe had encountered Jack's attack squads and was destroying them with a furious snarl on his face. His main group of cat warriors were being targeted and, having not fully recovered from the fight with the monks, they were quickly being taken down and paralyzed by Jack's forces. Jack watched as one of his snake-bots sunk its fangs into Chase who grabbed it tearing the robot in half as he once more swelled into his hulking draconic form.

Chase let out a horrible roar.

Jack laughed.

When the three of them made it to the throne room Jack's eyes immediately locked on the object at the center of the room. Jack touched the throne and he could feel an echo of the incredible power that Chase regularly channeled through it. He inspected the ornate chair and soon found what he was looking for.

The framework of the throne incorporated a massive rod that pierced through the floor and, if Jack's guess was right, into a massive structure underground that tapped into the ley line the castle rested on.

"Wanda, pour as much power as you can into the rod here. Phil, protect Wanda as she works." Jack ordered receiving a sharp yes from Wanda and a slight bow in acknowledgement from Phil.

On his screen Jack could see that his boys had just engaged Chase in combat. He felt an intense surge of pride as he watched the four fight the ancient warrior and hold their own. As Wanda poured her power into the throne Jack noticed a distinct shudder in Chase's movements and his speed noticeably dropped the reptilian fighter taken several strikes before he compensated for his own sudden weakness.

"Excellent Wanda, you are doing wonderfully." Jack called out as he headed towards the fight.

Jack barely heard Wanda's mumbled thanks as he left the room. The fight with Chase was on the other side of the building. Jack picked up his pace before something shifted in the corner of his eye. His arm shot out, sparking wildly with electricity, prepared to fry his attacker only to be met with a familiar face instead of hostility.

Wuya walked sedately towards him holding her hands up in the universal gesture of surrender, smirking as she met his gaze. Jack didn't stop waking towards the fight with Chase and Wuya fell into step beside him.

"Well look at you Jackie, or are you going by Mr. Smith now?" Her tone radiated smugness and pleasure.

"I never could fool you, Wuya." Jack acknowledged her prod with a friendly smile.

Her pleased expression was replaced by a frown at his words.

"I think you have been fooling me for a while now Jack. Why I believed you were dead for nearly an hour, silly me. Someone has been playing with the Ring of Nine Dragons, and you have been so productive since then too. Building this wonderful army, those five superior servants of yours, and that interesting girl you acquired. You've really come a long way from the foolish boy you were." Wuya said almost proudly.

She was obviously taunting him with her knowledge of his activities, but Jack couldn't help but question.

"If you knew what I was up to all this time why didn't you warn Chase?" Jack said coldly.

Wuya grinned widely her pure white fangs contrasting starkly with her copper skin.

"Why on earth would I warn Chase? After all aren't we best friends." Wuya purred.

Jack raised an eyebrow incredulously. He remembered the first day he had met Wuya and how she had introduced herself as his new best friend. She had betrayed him multiple times since then.

"Whatever, just stay out of the way while I take care of Chase." Jack demanded.

Wuya looked at him oddly before responding.

"And are you going to stop me if I want to interfere?" Her voice took on a deep menacing quality.

"Yes." He said simply.

His quick reply made Wuya miss a step and she almost tripped before catching herself.

"I think I like this new attitude of yours, see you soon Jack." Wuya bid farewell.

As suddenly as she appeared she was gone and Jack was once more alone.

He put thoughts of Wuya and her spying out of his mind, there were more pressing things to take care of. He received notifications from his forces, it was a total route, the only one still fighting was Chase himself and it was only a matter of time before he too was overwhelmed. Jack checked the screen showing the fight and smiled grimly.

Chase was a true monster. He stood battered and bloody amidst piles of his fallen robotic foes striking with impossible strength and skill against the hordes of opponents that swarmed him. However, every time he was about to gain an advantage he was struck back by one of Jack's four strongest warriors. He struck back but every time he scored a hit on one of Jack's boys they would retreat replaced by more bots, their injuries glowing red and melting back together cannibalizing their own metal to repair the damage before jumping back into the fray. Yet Chase stood defiantly against the waves of metal that should have felled him long ago.

Truly, Chase was one of the people that Jack respected most in the world. He wasn't even all that upset about the attempt on his life. Chase had seen through him and recognized the danger Jack represented when no one else had and had acted correctly in removing the danger. His only fault was in failing to succeed in killing him.

Jack watched the battered and bloody draconic Chase tear through one of his simian style robots and he had an idea. Grabbing one of his gorilla bruisers Jack made some quick adjustments and sent his bot to attack Chase. When his minion reached the fight and jumped at Chase with a punch too telegraphed to actually strike the ancient warrior, Chase tore through the gorilla's chest with his clawed hand. Instead of joining the pile of robotic corpses like the others this one latched onto Chase detonating the glue bomb Jack had given it.

Now burdened by being bound to the large machine, Chase struggled to dodge as more of his minions bodily tackled him sticking before the glue fully hardened. From there Chase's fall was quick. The glue hardened and, burdened by the bodies of several of Jack's robots, Chase was unable to effectively fight off his four strongest warriors. First his legs were struck with blades and, though they had already stated to heal, Chase fell to his knees. His arms were held by two of his bruiser bots and Raph rushed forward to deal the finishing blow.

The physically strongest of the four warriors struck Chase's open chest piercing through his tough scale hide and piercing his heart. Jack walked to the downed Chase and Raph nodded and jumped away.

"You!" Chase gasped fury filling his eyes.

So even destroying his heart wasn't enough to stop Chase Young. Fortunately, he had come prepared to counter Chase's incredible vitality. Jack pulled out the puzzle box he had made for this day and Chase's face hardened in recognition of the danger.

Chase let out a sound more suited to the dragon he appeared than anything human and one of his arms ripped free of the robotic grip and glue that bound him losing scales and flesh in the process. With movement like lightning Chase struck out in a killing blow aimed at Jack only for his arm to halted by Leo who had pinned it into the ground with the sword he wielded.

"A warrior to the end, goodbye Chase." Jack solemnly announced.

Jack opened the puzzle box and Chase screamed. His body stretched and warped seemingly turning to liquid as the defeated warrior was sucked into the tiny cube. The process only took seconds but Jack felt that an eternity had passed before the box snapped shut sealing away the greatest enemy he had ever faced and a man he had looked up to.

The genius looked up and saw that his four warriors were kneeling before him, behind them his army stood at attention. He turned his head and took in the sight of his new castle.

The aspiring world conquerer grinned. He had so much work to do.


	21. Chapter 21

She had finally snapped, that was the only explanation for the insanity she was experiencing, and as time went on she became more and more sure that this was taking place inside of her own broken psyche.

Just as she had turned seventeen she had gotten an intense bout of intuition that someone was in her cell with her. When she looked and saw that no one was present, that was the first clue that she had gone crazy, but she hadn't realized then. Her cell had been invaded by an intimidating man who stood tall enough to fill her room all the way to the ceiling and she had been so startled by his sudden appearance she had done nothing but gape stupidly at him.

The man was wearing an elegant overcoat so dark that it seemed to suck all the light out of the room contrasting starkly with a pale face that would have looked pleasant if he had not been invading. On his head stood a shiny black hat and hair that was a bright red that stood out sharply from the dull colors she saw every day. His eyes were the same shade of red and he seemed to be looking right through her. Wanda couldn't help but stare at him.

Then he started talking.

He had said something about taking her powers and she had been filled with anger and attacked him.

That had been a mistake.

Her mind had felt fuzzy and she attacked with her power wildly, that was when she got her next clue that this might not really be happening. Nothing she did affected the man and he never attacked her back. Behind him a giant fly appeared from previously empty space. The man didn't even acknowledge the creature's presence and Wanda had paused unsure what was happening.

Then he had started talking again.

His voice had a calming quality and it felt a bit like she was talking to Xavier. Was that what was really happening?

Wanda recalled that she had an appointment with Xavier today, maybe she was sitting in his office being lectured to and all this craziness was just that, insanity.

She answered his questions just like she always did when Xavier talked to her and he made promises like Xavier always did. Then something happened. When she called him a liar he smiled widely and offered to prove his sincerity. Then his hand glowed blue and Wanda could feel it. She had been wrong about this figure who had invaded her cell. He was not Xavier nor was he merely intimidating. This man Jack was someone truly great.

She gathered all her courage and grasped the offered hand and felt his power fill her, letting her know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he could be trusted, it seemed silly now that she ever doubted him.

He talked about magic and mutants and promised to free her if she would just tell him what she knew. She had been in the cell so long that she didn't know much but she agreed anyway.

That was when she got her final bit of proof that she had gone insane. The figment took his hat from his head and the inside opened into a window to another world. When she inspected it she tumbled through, landing in a beautiful garden. There, in a wire cage, was a white rabbit and that was when the truth clicked in Wanda's head. She remembered being a young girl and reading a storybook where the main character fell into a rabbit hole into an imaginary world.

That settled it, she had finally lost her mind. At least the fantasy she had created was a pleasant one. A handsome man whisking her away from her horrible prison at midnight on her birthday promising her everything she wanted and taking her to a beautiful garden. She scoffed at herself for ever believing such obvious fantasies, but still, she was here in the fantasy garden petting the white rabbit.

Soon enough Jack reappeared, and she could feel the power flowing through her insist she could trust him. She did her best to ignore him and for a while he just sat next to her. Then he did something she couldn't ignore.

At first, he just seemed to be puttering around his garden planting a seed. Then she felt the truth of it. Power flowed through him and into the seed he had planted. The act was beauty on a level she had never experienced before and when he was finished a flower stood fully grown. She felt a small echo of Jack's presence radiating from the plant and she couldn't take her eyes away. Then he started talking again and she listened.

He spoke of magic and power that she too possessed, if this was a fantasy it wasn't one she wanted to leave. Then he asked her about mutants, and she told him what she knew. His face glowed with pleasure as he smiled a full toothed smile at her. She wasn't sure what she said that could have gotten such a reaction, but she felt oddly pleased with herself.

Then he asked about her father.

This was supposed to be her fantasy. Her father had no place here other than broken under her heel. She felt her power unleashing without her control, but she barely noticed. This was her fantasy wasn't it? If she focused hard enough maybe her father's broken body would appear, and she could be truly happy. In the back of her mind she felt her power suddenly dissipate.

She turned her attention to Jack and demanded that her father be punished.

He asked her why he would help her with nothing to gain from it.

That wasn't right, this was her fantasy wasn't it? He should just give her what she wanted.

He had told her that she had power only a minute ago and she said as much to him. What he said in return nearly broke her heart. He told her that she was useless to him, even in her own fantasies she was cast aside.

NO!

She couldn't let it end like this. She felt the connection to him that he had forged earlier and through it she sensed something. Jack wasn't being dismissive, rather there was a sense of curiosity to what he said. He wanted something from her, but she had no idea what. She conjured up every ounce of her resolve and faced him.

"What will it take?"

He wanted everything.

She gave it to him.

She felt his power wrap around her as she agreed to his terms and she was floored by the scope of him. This couldn't be just a man. He was some sort of angel, or maybe a God?

"Welcome home Wanda, and Happy Birthday."

She was truly content as she followed her savior.

She wished it was real.


	22. Chapter 22

She didn't really know what she had expected when she walked through the same window that had lead her to the garden. She had been terrified she would simply wake up to find she was still in her cell and this had all been an incredibly vivid hallucination, though she couldn't bring herself to believe in the all too real possibility. She didn't have any reference point for the place she found herself after following Jack.

If she were forced to compare this place to anything she would say that she felt like she was in the middle of an enormous metal beehive. Everywhere she looked bronze and black creatures flew about working on whatever mysterious business metal people got up to. She followed closely behind Jack afraid that if she lost sight of him she would get swept up into the flow of the creatures and end up hopelessly lost. Jack had no problem navigating through the chaos and she took comfort in the confidence of her guide. After a dizzying series of twists and turns that she had no hope of remembering Jack led her to an important looking office that he entered without so much as a knock.

Stepping inside the office was like stepping out of a storm. The noise of outside was completely filtered out, leaving only a comfortably furnished office with a distinguished looking man sitting at a desk looking over many tall stacks of paperwork. His neatly trimmed hair was graying at the sides and his face had an air of sophistication that Wanda could only compare with some of the senior doctors at the asylum, though they all looked shabby in comparison to this man.

"Phil, meet Wanda. She is entering into my employ effective immediately. She has been away from society, so you will need to set up a schedule to bring her up to speed with where she should be mentally and physically. She has had a long day and I am sure she is tired so if you could set her up in one of the guest rooms that would be wonderful, thanks Phil." Jack stated rapidly.

Jack stated all of this like he was listing off orders for food rather than discussing her future. The well-dressed gentleman merely rose and inclined his head slightly.

"Of course, sir." The man called Phil deferred to Jack.

Abandoning the paperwork, he had clearly been working on, Phil turned his attention to Wanda. The door opened and closed. Jack was gone leaving Wanda feeling nervous and unsure in the face of this stranger. However, she would not lose her nerve at the first uncomfortable feeling. Steeling herself she spoke.

"Hello, I'm." She began.

"I know who you are miss Maximoff, I have been watching." Phil cut her off.

Her momentum thoroughly shattered Wanda floundered.

"Um." She ummed.

It was more of a sound than an actual attempt to talk. She had no idea how to deal with this person and he hadn't even done anything yet. Wanda panicked, and she felt her power rising to answer her distressed state.

Phil merely raised and eyebrow and snapped his fingers and her power died down just like it had when Jack had done something similar earlier tonight. She had thought she was powerful, but she kept getting shut down, who were these people?

"We are going to have to work on your impulse control if you want to be able to socialize normally with your peers." Phil said, completely unfazed by her lack of control over her power.

"What?" She stated dumbly.

Things were happening too quickly for Wanda to keep track of. She rarely had to deal with anything more exciting than being let out of her cell for a few hours, under guard to talk to Xavier, and her ability to deal with the situation had been overloaded long ago.

Phil seemed to sense this and gave her a kind smile. The effect completely transformed the impression he gave off. Before he seemed like someone who only tolerated the strictest discipline and now she almost felt he was someone she could confide in.

How did he do that?

"Don't worry miss Maximoff, self-control is something we can work on later. For now, you need to rest as you are clearly exhausted. Tomorrow morning you will start on your physical therapy to help you recover from your long confinement and then we can discuss in what direction you want to take your schooling." He said gently.

"Schooling?" She questioned.

It was the only thing she could pick out of what he was telling her.

"Yes, you will need to put in quite a bit of effort if you want to catch up to your peers scholastically, but you don't need to think about that just yet, for now we need to get you put up for the night." His smile broadened just a bit as if he a good idea. "I think a room with a window will do for you." He asserted.

A room with a window. How many times had she dreamed of such a thing while she had been trapped in the asylum. She found herself nodding.

"That would be great." She responded putting as much approval as she could in her tone.

She followed Phil who led her down the twisting path as easily as Jack had done and she couldn't help but compare the two. Phil was a much shorter man than Jack, and though he had a charisma about him, he just couldn't compare to the sheer presence Jack had. Still, how had someone like Phil ended up working for Jack?

He led her farther away from the chaos of the factory and into a set of rooms that were nice and quiet. Inserting a key, he retrieved while she hadn't been looking, Phil opened a door to a furnished bedroom with soft green walls and a large bay window and attached bathroom. It looked very comfortable and Phil handed her the key. Behind him one of the bronze and black creatures appeared holding a tray of cookies and a glass of milk.

"If we want to get you up to a healthy weight we will have to start right away." Phil said setting the warm milk and cookies on a small table in the corner of her room.

"Goodnight miss Maximoff, I will see you in the morning." Phil said before turning to the door.

"Goodnight." She said softly enough that no one should have heard, but Phil turned his head and smiled at her before closing the door.

With that, Wanda was left alone with her thoughts and they spun out of control. She had so many questions that she didn't even know where to start and with a yawn she realized she was about to collapse. She could deal with her situation in the morning, for now she only had one important thing to take care of before falling asleep.

The cookies were delicious, she fell asleep halfway through her milk not even making it to the bed.

It was the best sleep she had since she was a child.

She woke to the sound of knocking on the door. The sound was rhythmic and came in bursts of three. She didn't want to awaken just yet, so she just counted them without stirring.

One, two, three.

Pause for a beat.

One, two, three.

Pause.

How long were they going to persist before the orderlies just opened the door and made her get up.

At the thought, Wanda snapped awake, and tangled her legs in the chair she had been sleeping in, as she scrambled to get to the door.

She opened the door expecting to see Phil or even Jack himself.

Instead one of the bronze bee-like creatures floated at the entrance to her room, lowering its clawed fist which had been about to knock again.

"Good morning Miss Wanda." The bee creature stated in a tinny metallic voice.

She looked at the bee thing in surprise and noticed that in its hands was a bundle of red cloth.

"Morning." She said uncertainly.

As if waiting for the acknowledgment the thing launched into an obviously prepared speech.

"These are exercise clothes that you will be wearing for your first session of physical therapy this morning. Master Jack asks that you shower, change and follow me to the gym where you will have a session before breakfast." The bee recited metallically before pushing the cloth into her hand.

Indeed, just as the bee man said the bundle was some sort of clothes. She took it before looking to the door in the room that she hadn't opened last night.

"Okay, um, just wait for me here then?" she said to the bee man thing.

"Yes ma'am." Bee said as if reacting to an order.

After one of the most luxurious showers Wanda could ever remember having, she even got to brush her teeth, she changed into the clothes which turned out to be a red sweat suit which felt incredibly comfortable. She snuggled into it happily before composing herself and opening the door to find Bee floating there in the exact same position she had left him.

Had he not moved at all?

"I'm ready to go." She said feeling much more confident and cleaner than she had in years.

"Yes ma'am, follow me ma'am." Said Bee.

She followed Bee taking in her surroundings much more easily than she had last night. She must have been fairly exhausted if she had gotten lost in this place, it was fairly straight forward. Soon enough Bee floated in front of a door waiting for her to approach before opening it and allowing her to walk through.

Inside was a man with symmetrical features wearing a white training ghee. He was dancing elegantly through a series of towers that were shooting at him. She started to shout out in alarm, before she noticed that nothing the towers did was actually touching him. He hit each tower in sequence and as he hit them they retreated into the ground. After only a minute he stood in an empty floor not even looking winded.

The man turned his head to her.

"Hello there, you must be Wanda, Master Jack's new friend. My name is Leo and I am here to help get you into tip top shape so that you can be of service to Master Jack." The man Leo said seriously, though his lips curled up as he looked at her.

He bowed his head in some sort of greeting. Was he making fun of her? She couldn't tell, she didn't have enough experience dealing with people because of her long imprisonment, so she decided to take him at face value.

"Yes, please. Help me become strong." She said mirroring his slight bow.

"That's the perfect attitude, I think I'm going to like working with you. The others all are focused on their own projects instead of becoming strong like they should." Leo said happily.

So, she had said the right thing, that was good. She didn't have any confidence in dealing with people properly after her long isolation, but she seemed to be doing fine, what a relief.

What followed was far simpler than the elegant dancing that the man had been doing, but he never seemed to mind that he was helping her with simple stretches instead of the incredible things he had been up to. In fact, he was very encouraging about her progress. After an hour she was sore, and her body screamed in protest, but she felt happy.

"That was an excellent session, you made significant progress. If you can keep up this sort of pace you will catch up to the rest of us in no time at all." Leo said beaming at her.

She couldn't help the flush of pleasure she experienced from the praise. Still though, she burned with more curiosity than ever at just who her mysterious savior was. When he had talked with her last night she had been convinced that Jack was a simple hallucination. Now it was clear that her savior was very real, and he had an abundance of talented people serving him like Phil and Leo. Was she one of them now?

"What exactly does Jack want from me?" she asked unable to stop herself.

Leo looked at her considering, taking a moment to ponder the question.

"Well Master Jack is interested in all sorts of things. He sent me and my brothers out to investigate you a couple of days ago and here you are now, so he must have seen something he liked." Leo confided.

"Wait, you have been spying on me?" Wanda exclaimed.

She wasn't quite angry, more surprised. Of course, Jack had checked in before rescuing her.

"Yeah, that was the first mission Master Jack let me and my brothers do without supervision, though knowing dad he was probably still watching anyway." Leo said with a grin.

Wait, wait, wait.

"Dad?" she sputtered out.

Leo looked at her for a moment before realization bloomed across his face.

"Yeah, Jack made me and my brothers out of metal with his magic, Phil too." Leo said easily.

Before she could fully absorb this information, the mentioned Phil strode into the room.

"Good morning Wanda, Leo." Phil said briskly.

Before she could return the greeting, Phil was ushering her out the door.

"You have a full schedule today, so we have to move along. No sense wasting valuable time. First you must rinse off and get dressed in some proper clothes, then breakfast." Phil tutted. "We will get you healthy and strong in no time."

Phil guided her back to the room she had slept in and on the table a new set of clothes were laid out.

"Are those for me?" Wanda asked.

Phil raised an eyebrow in what she realized was a gently mocking expression, she didn't feel particularly annoyed though just a little embarrassed.

"Of course, they are for you Miss Maximoff, we can't have you running around in sweats all day, it isn't proper for a young lady. I didn't know your clothing preferences last night, so you will have to make do with these basic things until we can work out a proper wardrobe for you. Now get rinsed off and change and we can discuss it over breakfast, I will be back in half an hour." Phil bustled her forward and once more she was left alone in the room.

Soon enough she was rinsed off and wearing her new outfit which was a simple tee shirt and jeans combo. Just as she was finishing up she heard a knock on her door and opened it to find Phil who led her through the halls to a cafeteria where a veritable feast was set out for her. Among the dishes were a few strange things she didn't quite recognize, thankfully Phil quickly made her a plate of food and took her to a table.

Phil was easy to be around. She had no idea how to interact with people, having spent her adolescence isolated, but Phil seemed to understand what she wanted and how she was feeling better than she did. Any time she was unsure, Phil seemed to be one step ahead of her taking charge and moving through her awkward silences with a smoothness that felt perfectly natural. She soon found herself in the closest thing to a normal conversation she had ever been in.

They talked about her fashion sense and what she wanted out of her schooling. They talked about her father and how she wanted to get stronger to get revenge. They talked about magic and science and how the two were similar.

They talked about Jack.

She had felt a little silly confessing that she thought he was some sort of angel, or god, come down to earth to save her, but Phil seemed pleased by the comparison.

"I predict that many people will feel the same way about Jack in the future, some already do." Phil said happily as he took a sip of something unrecognizable from an ordinary coffee mug.

It was obviously a liquid, but it had a metallic sheen to it and when it was still she would have guessed that it was polished steel in a cup. Phil was drinking it happily, so she guessed it couldn't possibly be liquid mercury like it appeared. When she asked to try some, Phil warned her away from it handing her a glass of milk instead.

As the conversation turned to her mysterious savior, Wanda had been absently enjoying the meal in front of her. The flavors were amazing, and she had never eaten so well, or so much. She looked down and found that she had polished off an entire plate of bacon and eggs, two glasses of milk and a waffle covered in syrup, yet she didn't feel bloated at all.

As if reading her mind Phil smiled that knowing smile of his, which would have been annoying if he wasn't so good at explaining promptly.

"That isn't normal food, or rather I should say that isn't simply normal food. In the course of his research, Mr. Spicer has made many discoveries. One of the areas Jack was particularly interested in was the strengthening and improvement of the human body. This food is the result of his efforts and though it won't lift you to superhuman levels, if used in conjunction with an exercise regime of my own design you will be at optimum health far faster than would be normally possible, so eat up miss Maximoff." Phil ordered briskly.

Indeed, the soreness she felt from this mornings workout was fading and though it was not gone the more she ate the better she felt.

"Mr. Spicer himself is a genius. He has made everything here and isn't going to be slowing down any time soon. One day Jack will be the most influential man in the world and saving you is part of his plans, so you do your best, alright." Phil smiled at her.

She wasn't sure what to say to that, of course she was going to do her best, anything less and she wouldn't become strong enough to take revenge on her father. Still, paying back Jack for his kindness seemed like the right thing to do, and it wasn't like she had anything planned for after her vengeance.

She nodded to herself decisively.

She would happily help Jack in whatever plan he had for her. Before she could say as much to Phil, the doors burst open and a group of people with perfectly symmetrical faces entered the cafeteria chatting noisily.

She was startled at first but recognized one of the people as Leo, who had trained her this morning. She stared at him and he looked at her. He nodded at her before bringing the whole group towards her. What was he nodding about?

Had she accidently sent Leo a social signal?

The four had all grabbed cups full of the same liquid Phil was drinking and joined them at the table.

"So, who is this cutie?" Said the shortest one of the symmetrical men.

He was grinning widely at her and she stared at him in confusion. He wasn't the slightest bit put off by her silence and he turned expectantly to Leo.

"This is Wanda as you well know Mike. We were all briefed last night when she was brought in." Answered the tallest factually.

"Wanda I would like to introduce you to my brothers, the forward one is Mike, and Mr. dry facts here is Don, the quiet one is Raph." Introduced Leo.

Before she could respond, Mike plopped down next to her, slurping on his cup of gleaming liquid. The others all took seats around the table looking at her curiously but turned their attention away from her when Phil raised his eyebrow at them, save for Mike who seemed impervious to the unspoken disapproval.

"So, you're a witch, right? That means you can use magic to turn people into frogs, right? Don't turn me into a frog by the way. What sort of games do you like? Can you do a backflip? I can do a backflip. Do you want to play ping pong with me? I bet I can, ow" Mike's babbling was cut off by Raph swatting him on the back of the head.

"She can't answer you if you don't pause between questions motor-mouth. You can ignore Mike. Well its possible to ignore Mike, but it takes some effort." Raph said barely glancing at the blank faced Wanda.

"Besides, there isn't really any such thing as magic, it is all science that we just need to learn to utilize properly." Don butted in on the conversation.

"Of course, magic is real Don, master Jack uses magic all the time." Mike shot back.

"Just because you don't understand how he does it doesn't mean its magic, Mike." Don argued back.

"You don't understand it either." Mike raised his voice.

-cough-

The four snapped to attention as Phil politely cleared his throat.

"No need to argue in front of miss Maximoff." Phil's eyes glinted as he spoke though his tone was casual.

The four drained their drinks, stood and left.

"Later Wanda." Mike called out as the four retreated.

The other three called out similar farewells.

"Bye." She called out quietly after them.

She turned her head to Phil who was looking at her with a small smile that vanished into his customary stern expression.

"That's enough food for now, miss Maximoff, I think its time to start you on your studies."

She stared blankly at the screen in front of her.

Phil had given her a device that he said was phone and then showed her to an open room with an entire wall made of windows looking out over a construction zone. Phil said it was all owned by Jack and would soon look over a recreational park for use by future employees and open to the public. For now, it just seemed like an empty room looking out over tons of upturned earth.

Phil had activated a feature on the phone he had given her and the screen she was now staring dumbly at had sprung in front of her out of nowhere.

On the screen read the words, Crash Course, and the word, Start, popped out at her.

She reached out and touched the button and the screen changed.

Now it read, Let's Learn Grade three, with a series of questions and lectures.

She sighed, this was going to take a while. Steeling herself she started reading.

She had been resolvedly pushing her way through the incredibly simple material for hours now and it showed no signs of becoming difficult, only boring. She had been bored everyday for the past ten years, the simple material was a vast improvement over her empty days and held the promise of catching her education up to where it should be. Still after eight hours of wading through rudimentary material she was starting to tire.

Some time while she was working, someone had put plates of food on the desk she was sitting at and she had devoured it all as readily as she had done at breakfast. Her body felt strong and ready for anything, but her mind was nearing its limit.

Just as she thought of taking a short break the phone Phil had given her buzzed and an icon appeared on the top of her work screen with the words answer and decline under the name Philip Irons. Quickly pushing answer, the screen flashed the word saving before collapsing into a three-dimensional image of Phil that stood a foot tall on the table top.

"Hello Miss Maximoff, you have been making incredible progress, I am very impressed." The little Phil said, though the words clearly came from the phone instead of the image.

Wanda's chest filled with warmth and she didn't know why, of course she made progress she had been working all day, still she found herself greeting Phil as warmly as she could.  
"Thank you, Phil." Said Wanda.

She focused on her words trying to express her feelings of gratitude and, though she wasn't confident she had gotten her emotions across, Phil nodded in acknowledgment.

"You are welcome miss Maximoff. I was calling to tell you that Mr. Spicer wants to see you in his lab for power testing, I am sending a drone to guide you." Phil informed her.

She was finally going to see Jack. She had been overwhelmed by him the last time they had spoken, had she made a fool of herself? She stood and shook off the stiffness of her day of studies, even something this simple would have been impossible in her confinement due to her hand restraints. She was thankful to Jack from the bottom of her heart and she was amazed about how alive she felt after spending so long feeling like the living dead.

She looked around at the facility that Jack had brought her to. Everything she had seen today belonged to Jack and she was a little intimidated to meet her savior, the last time they had spoken she had been so overwhelmed by his presence she had thought he was a holy being.

What would meeting him again be like?

One of Jack's bee creatures approached and beckoned her to follow it. This must be the drone Phil had mentioned. She followed it to an elevator and when they entered, the drone pushed a button marked labs and the room started descending.

She liked Jack's bee servants. They were very task oriented and she felt no pressure to socialize in their presence. They were merely there, doing whatever they had been instructed to do. Easy to understand.

When the doors opened she felt a wash of energy flow across her senses and her eyes widened involuntarily. Everything in this room seemed to be giving off different kinds of energy. It was like walking into an auditorium where dozens of different bands were playing different kinds of music, yet, overwhelming as it was, the noise was entrancingly beautiful.

At the center of the wondrous chaos, her savior stood resplendent in his tall black coat just as she remembered. He seemed to be the only thing in the room that wasn't radiating power. Instead, he stood as an oasis of peace in the ocean of noise generated by his projects and she found herself standing next to him without even noticing she had started walking. The chaos became order in his presence and the music of the room fell into harmony.

She couldn't help but stare at Jack, who turned to greet her with an energetic smile.

"Wanda, wonderful you're here. I wanted to experiment on how your red power interacts with other forms of energy in a controlled environment. Would you mind blasting a few things for me?" Jack asked hopefully.

He stood over her, smiling expectantly, and she felt herself freeze at his question. Oh god, she had to answer him, she was looking like an idiot.

"They're called hex bolts." She said stupidly, unable to tear her eyes away from his face.

"Wonderful, I will make the proper adjustments to my notes. Now, if you wouldn't mind using a hex bolt on this." Jack produced a small box and placed it on a pedestal before stepping away and standing next to her with undisguised enthusiasm.

He was standing right next to her, they were practically touching. She stopped breathing for a moment before focusing on the box. It gave off a faint energy like a bell amidst the loud concert of the room. She charged energy in her hand and fired it at the box.

It was like a police siren interrupted all the music.

She winced as the bell-like noise of the box shrieked and was torn apart. The box grew giant filling the room all the way to the ceiling. She turned to Jack afraid he would be angry at the hideous noise her power had created, but his face was filled with childlike enthusiasm instead of disgust.

He rushed over to the box and it shrank back to its formerly tiny state, with a beautiful chime of energy from a pair of ornately designed sticks Jack was holding.

She was relieved that he wasn't angry, but that feeling faded as he turned to her smiling widely.

"Excellent Wanda, next I want to try something a little different." Jack announced.

The night went on like that for a while. Apparently, she was breaking magic he had put on certain objects, but occasionally he tried to store her hex bolts in some sort of container. It took some trial and error, but he managed to collect a bolt of her power in a small cylinder and she felt her energy add to the chorus of the room, not as an obstruction, but as an instrument. Hearing her power harmonize with the rest of the room instead of ruining the sound filled her with a deep pride and she understood just a little of what she could do for Jack to repay him for rescuing her.

She could be another instrument in the chorus he was making.

Was what he was doing magic? It seemed like his controlling of all these energies couldn't be anything else. She wanted this amazing power that Jack wielded like the master he was. She needed something like this if she wanted the power to take revenge on her father.

"Will you teach me magic?" Wanda asked reverently.

The four brothers all referred to Jack as master, and even Phil, who seemed so competent, had a certain reverence towards Jack. She understood their deference. Jack was someone truly special and she hoped she wasn't crossing a line in asking for his teachings.

Jack paused for a moment, scrutinizing her, she couldn't look away from him.

"I think I can put together something for you." Jack said considering.

"For now, we have been working for a long time and you must be exhausted." Jack whistled and one of the bee drones flew down.

"This is yours now." Jack said gesturing towards the drone. "It will follow your orders and you can use it in whatever way you see fit. It can also guide you around the factory." Jack told her.

"Get a good night's sleep tonight, you have a busy few months ahead of you if you want to catch up on your studies, do your physical therapy and learn magic but," Jack grinned at her. "I bet you can do it."

Wanda followed the drone out of the labs, practically floating all the way back to the bedroom Jack had given her. She wouldn't let anything stop her. She would prove Jack's faith in her correct, no matter how hard she had to work.

She slept in the bed tonight, instead of the chair, smiling happily as she dreamed of her revenge and how impressed Jack would be with her.


	23. Chapter 23

The second day of her stay at Jack's factory had been much like the first, Leo trained her, and they had started going through some basic tai chi to promote healing and strengthening of the muscles. He was very patient with her though clearly he was able to do far more when he wasn't limited by having to guide her. Then back to her room for a shower where she found multiple outfits had been put in her room all in the styles she and Phil had talked about over breakfast the day before and laid out on the bed was a beautiful red overcoat. She had told Phil how much she liked Jack's coat and now she had one of her own. She reached out feeling the material, it was so smooth.

At breakfast she was joined by Mike who chatted nonstop while she nodded along, only rarely speaking. He wasn't the slightest bit perturbed by her lack of response and invited her to play video games with him. She shrugged noncommittally but he still smiled brightly at her. She didn't mind his presence, but her schedule was packed, and she didn't think playing games was a good use of her time.

After breakfast came another slog through years of missed schooling that she tackled with iron perseverance. Afterwards she set out to meet Jack again. When she found him, he was welding a large metal ring together with pumping music playing in the background. Not wanting to disturb him, she stood back observing him work and listening to his music. He moved dynamically while he created whatever it was, freely dancing in three dimensions not bothered at all by gravity as he wielded the bright blue flame against the metal of the ring, it was a hypnotizing sight. The music was coarse and violent eliciting strong aggressive emotions in her. She decided she liked it and eagerly let the noise wash over her.

Eventually Jack stopped his dance of creation and turned to her, the music stopping as his attention turned from his work.

She continued watching him, unsure now that his attention was on her. He paused for a moment before smiling kindly.

"I promised to teach you some magic." He said in that enthusiastic way of his.

The prospect of learning magic was incredibly alluring, and he had said something to that effect before, but she had only come up here because that is what she had done yesterday. In fact, she had been expecting to do more power testing and if she didn't have to do that she would have been happy simply watching Jack work. Learning magic was even better than watching Jack and she gave him a sharp nod.

"Usually, the hardest part of learning magic is getting started. Fortunately, you already tapped into your magic on the day we met. I want you to close your eyes and remember the feeling of that day and search inside yourself to see if you can feel that spark again." Jack was walking towards her as he talked.

It was impossible to forget the enrapturing feeling she had when Jack had taken her hand back in the cell. It had only gotten stronger since then, but she hadn't been able to touch it since that day, only drawing on her mutant power whenever she tried. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the feeling of the warm energy that was so similar yet different from the power that her father had thrown her into the asylum for.

At the thought of her father her anger spiked, and her power welled up in answer to her emotions. Just as she was about to scream in frustration at failing to access her magic the power she had summoned dissipated as it always did in Jack's presence. She felt a hand on her shoulder and before she could react to the unexpected human contact she was suffused with a clear energy. It felt like her soul had been dunked in warm water and the magic she had been unable to touch welled up in response. The magic was far weaker than her mutant power had been, but it welled up rejecting the foreign energy that was coming from Jack's hand.

This was Jack's magic. The thought brought a different behavior in her own small pool of power and instead of lashing out at the invading energy her magic tentatively latched on to it. It was rapturous, and Wanda lost herself in following the guiding light of Jack's power. She had no idea how long she spent standing their but all too soon She heard his voice telling her to open her eyes. She obeyed without a thought.

There floating above her hand was an orb of purple energy and she instinctively knew that she had created it together with Jack. He urged her forward and together they walked towards the gleaming ring Jack had been working on when she entered the lab looking for him. Following his guiding touch, she placed the orb against a square plate at the base of the ring and watched in fascination as it was absorbed. The ring crackled to life, powered by herself and Jack, their combined energy rippled across the ring and she knew in her soul what it did. This was another window just like the one Jack had taken her through on the night he rescued her, only it wasn't connected to another place. A window to nowhere.

It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

She fell to her knees, suddenly exhausted from using so much power. She stared at Jack, who was grinning widely, her savior resembled a work of art brought to life in front of her eyes. His face was bathed in the purple glow from the window he had let her help activate and his eyes burned with curiosity as he beheld the thing they had brought to life together. In that moment she truly believed this man was capable of anything.

The moment was broken when he turned to face her. She was too drained to stand, and Jack snapped his fingers and one of his drones floated over with a chair which he helped her into.

"Incredible isn't it." Jack said.

Her eyes were locked on him unable to look way. She couldn't put what she experienced into words so she nodded again.

"Here I have something for you." Jack said.

As he spoke he reached into his coat and pulled out a book that looked to large to fit in a normal pocket. She didn't question it.

He held out the book and she managed to hold it in her still weak grasp. The cover read, For Wanda, and as she opened it she realized that Jack had written it himself. Inside was a short paragraph that was clearly an introduction to manipulating magic.

Had he written this just for her since last night?

"Study hard Wanda. What you just did only scratches the surface of what magic is capable of. Now it has been a few hours already and you are exhausted. You will need to get some sleep if you want to keep up this level of progress, sweet dreams." Jack said.

The drone that was assigned to her helped her back to her room and she collapsed into her bed feeling more exhilarated than she ever had before.

This was what she needed.

Jack was delivering everything he had promised her and more, with the power he had shown her she would be able to take revenge on her father and make a place for herself here.

Her dreams were full of victory and magic.

Her usually blank face that had only ever shown the barest hints of her true emotions broke into a wide grin that bore all her teeth.

No one was around to see it.

Jack was a genius.

She read the book of magic Jack had written for her every moment she could spare, and it was made abundantly clear to her that Jack was a genius. Half the time she should have been spent going through schoolwork today had been spent committing the book to memory. The things he claimed were possible made her tremble in excitement, and if she hadn't felt for herself the power last night she would have dismissed the book as pure fantasy. For now, her biggest limiting factor was her pathetically small reserve of energy, fortunately Jack had written out some simple exercises geared towards increasing her reserves. She could feel the energy begging to be used and after finishing her schoolwork for the day she rushed back to her room to practice, her assigned drone floating serenely behind her.

She followed the instructions of the book trying to summon up a small bit of water that she could safely manipulate in her room and Wanda's excitement grew as she could feel it working. Unfortunately, with her excitement came the flow of her mutant power which overwhelmed the comparatively tiny ember of her magic, extinguishing her efforts.

The failure when she had been so close to success filled her with a frustration that quickly turned to anger, and she lashed out with her power striking the drone that Jack had given her. The thing slammed against the wall and fell lifeless to the ground.

Oh no.

She had destroyed one of Jack's servants, the very one he had gifted to her.

Panic filled Wanda and she was paralyzed in shock as she stared at the pile on the ground that had only ever been helpful to her, now broken.

No, No, No, No.

It was just like Xavier had said.

He couldn't let her out of the Asylum because of her anger and now she had destroyed one of Jacks servants, Jack would throw her back into the Asylum again and everything would go back to the way it was.

No, she couldn't let that happen.

She wouldn't let that happen.

But, she couldn't face Jack, not like this. She would be such a disappointment and she couldn't bear the though of him abandoning her like her father had.

She found herself walking out of the room and headed for the front doors, huh, it had been three days and she hadn't even tried to leave the factory. She paused at the exit and realized that she was afraid. She hadn't been truly outside since she was seven. The panic pushed her forward and her desire to be as far from Jack as possible won out.

She stepped outside.

The sun was blinding, and Wanda had to squint before her eyes adjusted to natural daylight. She began walking away from the factory but hadn't even made it a hundred yards before she realized she had no idea where she was going. What would she do without Jack and all the support he had been giving her. She could go to Xavier. He had a school for mutants, but he wouldn't take her in either, he had been right, she was too angry to be in the outside world.

She kneeled in the middle of the road tears flowing freely from her face and let out a keening wail of distress that sounded more animal than human. She couldn't take being abandoned again she just couldn't.

Her power rose in reaction to her distress and the world around her began to sway wildly caught up in her distressed influence.

Her power cut off suddenly and her head darted up in shock.

From the opposite direction of the factory walked one of the symmetrical brothers. Through her watery gaze she recognized him as Raph, the one who she had spoken to the least.

Oh no.

He would find out what she did and tell Jack.

She clenched her eyes shut waiting for the anger she knew was coming.

A hand rested gently on her shoulder and she jerked her head up to see Raph kneeling beside her with an inscrutable expression on his face. He stared into the distance, not acknowledging the contact or even that she was there.

She waited for him to say something, but he just sat next to her with his hand on her shoulder, not even looking at her.

She grew angry again, what was he doing, she shook the hand from her shoulder and glared at him, but he just sat there letting his hand drop to his side when she shook it off.

"What do you want!" she screamed at him. "Don't you know what I did?" she said loudly.

Raph just sat there not acknowledging her and she was furious.

"I broke the drone Jack gave me. Now he is going to get rid of me!" she was crying again her teeth clenched.

"It's okay, I will take care of it." Raph said still not looking at her.

She froze.

What.

"Don't tell Jack." she whispered

"Okay." Raph said.

It took her a long time sitting there before she had regained her composure and once more her face turned blank. Raph sat with her the whole time not saying anything else.

She stood, and he began walking to the factory beckoning her to follow him. They went to her room where the drone lay where she left it still broken. Raph lifted it with a single hand not showing any sign of strain at the burden, how strong was he?

She followed him hope blooming in her chest, where were they going?

They made it to a part of the factory she had never see before, it looked a little like the labs Jack worked in but was much smaller and lacked the ambient power. At a workbench, examining something she couldn't make out, was another of the symmetrical brothers, Don.

Don looked over at Raph as they entered the room.

"Have you been going out again? This whole habit of yours is going to get you in trouble one of these days, and don't think I don't know what you're doing. Stopping purse snatchers is one thing but if you keep this up you are going to get into trouble." Don launched into a prepared sounding speech.

"Don, I need you to fix this." Raph said dumping the drone on the table.

"A drone, why?" Said Don derailed from his rant.

Despite his question Don had already popped open a panel and was fiddling with the insides.

"Looks like the battery got overloaded, just let me pop that out and put this in." Don mumbled to himself.

Wanda watched in fascination as the drone lit up with life and began floating like nothing had happened.

Her phone buzzed and when she answered a Jack hologram popped into existence.

"Wanda, I need to talk to you. Come up to my labs at your earliest convenience." He said before the hologram flickered off.

She froze. The drone was fixed, would he still want to get rid of her?

She felt the hand on her shoulder again and looked at Raph.

"Go, it will be fine." He promised.

"Thank you." She said gratefully

Bolstered a little by his assurance, she left the two brothers and made her way up to Jack's labs, the drone once more floating after her, not minding at all that she had killed it earlier.

She felt a stab of guilt towards the simple creature. It had never done anything wrong and yet she had lashed out at it in a moment of frustration. Complicated feelings she didn't know how to deal with warred in her chest as she entered the elevator and went up to see Jack.

The confused emotions were shoved out of her mind when the door opened, and she froze.

Steeling herself Wanda took a step towards where she felt Jack was, hoping he would be forgiving.

He was not working on a project this time instead he sat at a table and gestured for her to join him.

"I have been thinking about the control issues you suffer from." Jack started.

Her heart plummeted, he was going to get rid of her.

"Whenever you get a strong surge of emotion your red energy wells up and lashes out at your surroundings making it dangerous to interact with others." He continued.

It felt like her heart had turned to stone and lodged firmly in her stomach as she listened to Jack talk. Maybe if she apologized now and begged for mercy he would let her visit the factory sometimes.

"Thus, I made this for you." Jack finished.

He was holding out a beautiful golden necklace with a red pendant on the front. She didn't understand what was happening?

Jack moved behind her and brushed her hair out of the way as he place the beautiful piece of jewelry around her neck.

"Any time your power goes out of control this pendant will emit a small surge of energy that will disrupt it before you do something you don't mean to. As long as you keep your power controlled it won't activate. With this, you can even go out and integrate with society without fear of hurting someone you don't mean to." Jack said happily.

Wanda was floored. She couldn't process what he was telling her. Being unable to go out in public without fear of hurting someone. That was the very reason her father had thrown her away. Jack had just solved the problem that had ruined her entire life, yet all she could think of was how beautiful his gift to her was, and how he had placed it around her neck.

"Now let me assure you, you won't have to wear this forever. As time goes by your control will improve and you won't need it anymore, but until then will you please wear this for me?" Jack asked.

Why was he asking that? This was the single greatest gift she had ever received, she never wanted to take it off, she couldn't find the words to express what she was feeling towards Jack, so just she nodded sharply in the affirmative.

He smiled at her.

Her mind blanked. She couldn't string two thoughts together let alone two words and she had somehow gotten all the way back to her room before her long neglected emotions filtered through and she began laughing uncontrollably, tears streaming down her smiling face.

She fell asleep clutching the necklace to her chest.

She worked herself to bone and as the weeks passed her improvements became obvious. Her body was no longer horribly malnourished, and while she had a long way to go she resembled a normal girl now, instead of a scarecrow. She had begun sparring with Leo in the mornings and he said she was improving rapidly, he had even set up a sparring dummy for her, she altered it slightly to make it more hittable, and occasionally Jack would drop by to check in. She tried to convey just how much what he had done meant to her and she was confident he knew, he seemed to know everything after all.

Since he had given her the necklace, her practice in magic leapt forward rapidly, almost like her mutant powers were keeping her magic from really shining before. Now she had made it through all of the basic exercises in the spell book Jack had given her. She was able to manipulate fire, water, earth, and wind easily as long as she hadn't used up her reserves, which were growing every day. She had torn through her school work and though the material only got slightly harder she had caught up all the way to the beginning of the high school curriculum. She imagined the last stretch to catching up with her peers would be the hardest, but she was determined, and she grew more optimistic every day she spent around the factory. She always made time to just spend with Jack no matter how busy she was, though she could never work up the nerve to talk to him while he was working, he always smiled at her and coupled with her daily interaction with the boys she felt like she was entering a good headspace for the first time ever.

She was even smiling and chatting normally with Phil and the boys whenever she saw them, though her face still blanked out whenever she was nervous.

Everything had really turned around when Jack saved her. Thinking of him brought a smile to her face and she decided to visit.

As she approached she saw he was fussing with some screens. She couldn't help the flutter of nervousness that appeared in her stomach when she approached him.

Jack spoke to her of revenge and opportunity and she just knew he was talking about more than just his enemies. He was teaching her the proper way to take revenge on her father. He told her that in order to succeed in her plans she had to recognize opportunity when it presented itself. She felt like there was something deeper in his words, and her gaze turned to the screens he was watching.

Two of the screens showed Jack's targets, the temple that held his competitors in collecting magic artifacts, and the one Jack wanted to take revenge on. This was Jack's enemy and Wanda felt a bubble of hatred towards the draconic warrior. The third screen was the one that confused her.

Why was Jack spying on Professor Xavier?

The other screens were about Jack's revenge. Jack had just told her that if she wanted to achieve her revenge she needed to recognize opportunities when they presented themselves. Xavier was in charge of an entire group of mutants and was the only possible connection she had to her father. She had never put the two facts together like that.

Xavier was her only lead in finding her father.

Jack was keeping an eye on Xavier.

She felt a surge of excitement at the realization but then Jack burst into motion, and the factory became more excited than she had ever seen it before. She soon found herself strapped into Jack's plane flying into enemy territory.

She was once more floored by the scope of Jack's power as he commanded his armies to break into the enormous fortress of his foe overwhelming the cat people that struggled in vain against Jack's creations. Phil made sure nothing happened to her and Jack had her use her hex bolts on the enemies turning them fully human.

Jack left her with the job of zapping a chair while he got his revenge. She didn't quite understand why she was doing it but knew that her job was vital, and she took her duty seriously. Phil was an indomitable wall that prevented anyone from approaching her while she worked and soon a pile of bodies appeared around him as he defeated enemy warriors as easily as disciplining children.

Then she appeared.

The woman was tall, far taller than her, standing at over six feet and her height wasn't the only thing about her that was striking. Her skin was bronze and her ears tall and pointed, her eyes glowed green and her teeth were fangs. Her hair was long and blood red and her body was elegantly sculpted. She walked with an assured confidence as if nothing in the world could touch her.

Phil stood before her with a raised eyebrow preventing her from approaching as he had all the others.

"Oh, another of Jack's tin-men." The woman mocked. "No, you are a little different from them aren't you." The woman said with a wicked grin.

She sprung at Phil with a clawed hand striking at him faster than Wanda could see. Phil was not as limited as Wanda however, and blocked her strike like he had blocked everything the cat people had thrown at him.

"I request that you leave this place miss Wuya, or I will be forced to remove you." Phil stated not changing his formal tone.

Wuya's eyes widened in surprise as Phil caught her wrist and he made to strike her stomach while she was trapped in his iron grip. She was not as vulnerable as she seemed though, and her body slithered around Phil's attempted attack and she wrapped herself around his arm breaking the grip he had on her and simultaneously throwing an elbow at his face. Phil lost his grip on her but brought up a hand to catch her elbow jumping back as he caught the blow. The two were both unharmed by the exchange and Wuya sported a wide smile.

"Oh, you really are something special aren't you, Jack outdid himself when he made you." Wuya said, not looking distressed in the least that Phil had stopped her assault.

"Leave or I will remove you." Phil sternly stated.

"Oh, I like you." Wuya smirked. "Hello Wanda, you are even more interesting than Mr. Irons here. I look forward to seeing much more of the both of you." She said ominously.

With that, she left them alone, but Wanda knew that wasn't the end of things with Wuya, and she couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable about the thought.

Jack emerged victorious, of course, and Wanda noted the proper way to take revenge on someone. She couldn't believe she had thought it was as simple as going up to the person you hate and blasting them. No, you had to take everything they had and leave them broken and powerless. Jack was so wonderful.

Jack left a contingent of his forces to take over the castle and he and Phil talked to the cat-people who were left without a master now that Chase was stuck in a tiny wooden box. Jack would be the new master of the castle and the cat-people would be allowed to live there as they wished doing whatever they did normally.

They seemed more or less pleased with the arrangement, and Wanda got the impression that they had been doing the same things over and over for a very long time. Jack left one of his robotic doppelgangers behind with instructions to report everything back to the factory so he or Phil could make sure things were running smoothly. Jack seemed very interested in the throne she had been pumping her power into and left a team of robots to excavate the ground and uncover how it worked.

Most of Jack's army was left behind to enforce his rule and Wanda boarded the plane along with Jack, Phil and the brothers and before long they were headed home.

Life was good, and Wanda had never been happier.


	24. Chapter 24

A snow-haired man with a face like a hawk stood in red armor over a bowing figure who had come to deliver her normal report.

"Your daughter has been abducted." revealed his subordinate, Mystique.

She was a blue woman with the useful ability to change her shape and mannerisms to imitate anyone she had ever seen. She had been a supporter of his for years and was one of his most loyal and competent subordinates. Thus, he had given her the responsibility of monitoring the state of his unstable child. Months ago, his daughter had revealed the impressive extent of her power and Magneto decided it was time to bring her back into the family.

He dropped a few choice words into the right ears and his old friend Charles Xavier had gone running to help the poor suffering girl. He had planned to let Charles repair her damaged psyche and train her in controlling her power, then he would send another of his subordinates to alter her memories and he would have his powerful, loving, useful daughter back.

Hmm.

His plans for his daughter had gone slightly off what he had expected, but when you dealt with as many changing variables as he did you learned to adjust to unique situations.

"Who is responsible?" Magneto demanded.

Mystique retrieved a small video player and activated it before explaining.

"Someone replaced the feed on the hospitals security cameras to show Wanda sitting quietly in her room all night, but there was a disturbance when she tried to fight off her abductor. It seems her power disrupted whatever her attackers were using to fool the cameras so there is a span of three seconds where we can see what was really happening." Mystique said briskly.

She opened the screen to show a video feed of Wanda sitting quietly in her cell, he grimaced, she looked like a mess, obviously not bothering to take care of herself, pathetic. Then the screen flickered, and the image changed.

A wild snarl was etched across his daughter's face as she clawed and flung her hex bolts at a man wearing a magician's top hat. She fought furiously and with her power she should have won, but the man easily thwarted her clumsy physical attacks and did something to disrupt her mutant abilities. The man looked down on his daughter with a clinical eye like a scientist observing a specimen and Magneto felt a cold rage fill him. His daughter was cast to the ground and the video sputtered back to Wanda sitting quietly in her cell.

"We don't know who he is, his face isn't in any of the registries and he isn't a mutant." Mystique said handing him a still image of the face of his daughter's attacker, she must have transformed into him to get such a clear shot.

He examined the photo memorizing the features of this new enemy. This man would pay. It didn't matter what hole this disgusting human was hiding in, Magneto would find him.

"And the youngest to graduate with a master's in electrical engineering since Tony Stark, Jack Spicer." Announced one of the more popular professors.

There was a polite smattering of applause as Jack received his diploma. He had merged himself into one for today. In the audience were Phil and Wanda as well as his mother and even his father made an appearance in hologram form. The boys were around but they had taken to practicing their stealth techniques everywhere they went.

He was surprised that his father made an appearance even as a hologram. Jack knew he had a hard time keeping his work with HYDRA separate from the rest of the family. Jack suspected that his mother's frequent trips were an excuse to visit his Father and do her own work for HYDRA.

Jack felt a surge of triumph as he received his diploma. He would be a legal adult next week and he knew that was when HYDRA would come knocking on his door, but he had gathered enough power and education to avoid being forcibly recruited into the ranks and from the happy look on his mother's face he suspected she knew more of his comings and goings than he gave her credit for. She had been increasingly worried over the years that HYDRA would take him away and her constant trips to aid her husband was probably her trying to convince them not to take him. Not that that would work. HYDRA only cared about increasing their own power and a genius like Jack would be far too valuable to ignore.

Now he had nothing to fear from them. He had a growing business that was raking in the profits in the millions and would soon be branching out into new areas. He had taken the entirety of the land of Nowhere from Chase and was building a device to control the ley line that Chase had used to keep intruders out of his lands. When it was complete Jack would have the ultimate security system and complete control over a vast area of land.

With Chase gone no one powerful had any sort of personal grudge against him and Jack could build up his empire without interference.

He looked over the crowd and his sight fell on a blank faced woman who was sitting rigidly in a folding chair burning a hole through him with her intense gaze. She was dressed beautifully in her now customary red coat and her raven hair fell in waves where before it had been like straw.

Wanda was worrying. She was growing in power and ability at an alarming rate and having her in such close proximity felt like keeping a live bomb around. She always had that same blank look on her face and she took every opportunity to glare at him. He could feel the strong emotions radiating from her whenever her eyes were on him but, for the life of him, he had no idea what he had done to make her so angry. He had already studied her abilities as much as he needed to and as useful as she could be, it just wasn't worth the risk anymore.

He would have to get rid of Wanda.


	25. Chapter 25

Jack's intention had been to remove Chase Young as a threat, but the opportunities that came with the fall of such a powerful man simply couldn't be ignored.

The castle and the entirety of the Land of Nowhere was without owner, and Jack saw no reason not to scoop up the entire area for himself.

Did that make him a king now?

Chase hadn't been a king, had he?

Jack supposed that to be a king one needed subjects and Chase had gone out of his way to make sure that his land had none, save for the enslaved warriors he surrounded himself with. So, if Jack wanted to be a king he would need to import a whole lot of people and even without Chase's negative influence this place wasn't exactly hospitable to human habitation.

That sounded like a of work.

The ley line Chase had used to control the land itself could theoretically be used to make the place friendlier to people and indeed that was what Jack was working on now. Jack had no intention of micromanaging everything as Chase had done, instead the genius did what he had always done when facing an unpleasant chore, he made a robot to do it for him.

The thing would have to be connected to the castle and more importantly to the enormous structure Jack had discovered. Buried deep under the castle directly beneath the throne was a cave that the inventor suspected Chase had dug out himself, which contained an enormous stone sphere. The entire place reeked of Chase Young's magical energy, but fortunately, Jack had a way to purify his former enemies magic into something a bit easier to work with. Jack retrieved a bag from his pocket dimension and seeded the cave with his specialized magic purifying plants.

He had noticed a change in the energy the plants had been giving off in the past few weeks. Where before the energy they produced calmed him now it felt more comfortable, like it had become closer to his own power. He couldn't use it any more than he could before, but he could feel it like it was his own. One day he hoped to be able to use the plants to produce Jack energy, so he wouldn't have to go through the process of draining magic from foreign sources, but he had no idea how to bridge the gap between himself and the plant energy.

Simply standing in his garden and breathing in the air made him feel stronger and his thoughts became clearer. He had taken to doing most of his planning in his pocket dimension and had set some patio furniture and an ice chest full of sweet tea, life was going pretty good.

He seeded the cave and used a tiny bit of magic to induce rapid growth in his plants, not enough to actually feed them but, if he was lucky, ah yes, the plants latched onto the magic in the room and were draining it dry to feed their growth spurt. He could already feel the echo of Chase's power weakening and the cave felt somehow cleaner. It would take time before the taint of Chase left this place completely, but Jack could be patient when the situation called for it.

In the castle proper the atmosphere had completely changed from the time Chase was in charge. The cat warriors were no longer bound by magic and they moved through the castle freely along with what remained of his robotic army. Jack had thought the freed warriors would hold animosity towards the robots or even himself, but they seemed more curious than anything. It wasn't an uncommon sight to see squads of his robots sparring with one of the warriors and they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

When it came to Jack they had been cautious at first but as they grew accustomed to their freedom he found that they often gave him a smile and friendly greeting when he passed through. All of them were once powerful fighters that Chase had wanted in his collection, and they appeared to all be adapting well to the change in situation.

Jack entered the throne room and observed the mess that sat where the throne had formerly been. The inventor had been building a machine that would be able to tap into the ley line just as Chase had done and his creation just kept getting bigger as Jack kept thinking of things he wanted to add to it. Since it was going to be monitoring the land of Nowhere, Jack would have to think about changing Nowhere's name perhaps Jacktopia, it needed to have access to an enormous network of cameras and be intelligent enough to act on that information. It wasn't one of his normal bots, so it didn't have to move around, but that just meant the genius had more space to devote to processing power. Once he connected his latest creation to the stone orb Chase used to control the land this machine would become the ultimate security system and would hopefully use the power of the ley lines to bring this desolate land to life. With that thought in mind he dubbed his creation Gaia and connected it to the rod that had been the spine of Chase's throne.

A light blinked on and an image of a seed appeared on one of the many screens. This was the loading symbol Jack had programed in. When the seed grew to a tree Gaia would be operational, but that would take a whie as drawing energy from the orb wasn't exactly like plugging a computer into a socket. This would require time, and even after it fully activated more time would be required for it to learn just like all his other robots. He patted the machinery affectionately

"Pleasant dreams Gaia."

As he left, the seed on the screen grew a tiny sprout.

At the factory business was booming, since his graduation he had no longer needed to devote time and energy to college and could now devote that attention to growing Smith Innovations. Phil had acquired a building in New York that was going to be devoted entirely to research and development. Jack had used his contacts at MIT to put out the word that he was hiring, and the applications flooded in. Phil vetted them to only the most promising candidates and now the young business owner had teams of scientists developing new and interesting products utilizing his designs. The place was a money pit, but it had already produced results and stores around the world had begun stocking his products, several companies had contacted him in to make deals for using his holographic technology for gaming and television systems as well as myriad of uses he had never considered. How was his hologram technology going to be used for duck hunting?

Oh, the contract was for a camouflaged bird blind, neat.

Jack had poured virtually all of the money made selling his phones back into the company, and his coffers had already started to refill. Things looked good for his growing empire.

Wanda was a concern.

He suspected she had a burgeoning case of borderline personality disorder, but it could easily be something else. She spent all her time that wasn't spent training or studying staring at Jack and not saying a word. Sometimes he got the feeling she wanted to speak but just couldn't manage. She needed professional psychiatric care that Jack was simply unqualified to provide, and he had taken her from the only person he knew of who was qualified to treat her.

Jack had been spying on Charles Xavier in an effort to discover more about these mysterious mutants that Jack had never heard of and, to his surprise, Jack learned that he had heard of them. Xavier kept files on all the mutants he could catalogue, and Jack was able to steal himself a copy. According to Xavier, mutants were all over the world and some of the more colorful characters Jack had encountered over the years owed their powers to being mutants. Even Mrs. King, the mother of the girl he rescued, who used her power to play the roles of long dead actresses was a mutant, huh.

Xavier was worried, and for good reason, that the world would reacted poorly to the revelation that people who possessed the x-gene would one day, at seemingly random, develop potentially devastating powers. At the moment, the powers that be were covering up the existence of mutants to the general public, but it was only a matter of time before that bubble popped.

Xavier himself seemed to care a great deal for the mutants of the world and went out of his way to track them down and offer them positions at his school, or any other help they might need. It was likely that Wanda would soon have ended up under Xavier's care if Jack had not interfered, and maybe the good professor could be the solution to his situation with the mutant witch.

She wanted to go to school and make friends, right?

He would have Phil print up a clean bill of health for her and buy a house near Xavier's institute. Enrolling Wanda at Bayside High for the upcoming school year as a senior shouldn't be too hard, it was amazing the legal trouble you could bypass by being rich. If he had a good read on Xavier's character, the man wouldn't be able to resist helping Wanda now that she could safely be in a public setting and then he could have Wanda create an in for him with the mutant community, while also getting her out of the factory and not staring at him all the time.

He called Phil to have him set things up, but his assistant had his own ideas about the plan.

"Wanda can't operate alone in that sort of environment and the boys also need to learn to socialize normally, let's enroll them all." Phil suggested.

Phil had a good point, he would have to alter their appearance a little to help them fit in with a bunch of high school students, but that wasn't too hard, and they had been getting antsy without any major enemies to fight. He suspected they had been slipping out at night to explore the world and if he didn't channel their energy who knows what trouble they could get up to.

Yes, the more he thought about it the better the idea sounded. His boys would soon start their careers as public school students.

They grow up so fast.

Phil seemed pleased by his acceptance and hung up to go take care of the legal trouble involved in creating four identities and clearing the record of an escaped mental patient.

Everything was going smoothly.

Mayor's Office NYC

Warren Wilhem Jr., better known as Bill de Blasio, mayor of New York City, sat at his desk with his head in his hands trying not to cry. This was the worst disaster of his career as mayor, and he had faced many disasters.

Millions, perhaps billions, of dollars in property damages as well as an entire section of the city inaccessible because two monsters rampaged down main street destroying everything in their path. A giant green man had been in an all-out slugfest with some sort of abomination and he couldn't think of any way they could afford to clean up after them.

Bill sighed, this was probably going to be the end of his career.

He flinched as the phone rang. He had been getting nonstop calls all day begging him to do something about all the damage, and for just a moment he entertained the guilty thought of not answering.

No, he couldn't do that.

Bill answered the phone and, instead of angry demands or sob stories, he heard a cultured voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello Mayor Wilhelm, my name is Philip Irons, and I am representing Irons Construction, I understand you have a problem."


	26. Chapter 26

Even with all of his experiments that needed looking after, and the company which never seemed to stop growing, not to mention the castle he had stolen, Jack felt relaxed. Without the threat of Chase looming over his shoulder he could finally breath freely without checking for enemies behind every corner. That feeling of security vanished as a screen popped up in front of him displaying the security feed to the entrance of his factory.

He found himself staring into the face of his old companion Wuya, who smiled and waved almost as if she could see him through the camera, and maybe she could, probably not though.

Jack sighed as he set down the project he was working on, a red hooded overcoat. The no longer relaxed genius made his way to the entrance of his factory to have a chat with the old witch.

"What are you doing here Wuya?" Jack said flatly.

He wasn't in the mood to deal with her, she probably wasn't here to get revenge for Chase, she lacked the loyalty for that, meaning she wanted to team up again. That wasn't a problem by itself, but Jack wasn't planning on hunting the Wu anymore, he was simply too busy. He could send out his robots to do it for him but Wuya complicated things. He had no doubt that if she or the monks really wanted to they could wreck his factory and that would set his progress back months.

"Is that any way to greet an old friend Jack." Wuya pouted.

If he didn't know her better, he might almost believe he had hurt her feelings. Fortunately for Jack, he did know her, and thus he merely gave Wuya as blank a look as he could muster.

"Oh, don't be like that Jackie. You should be in a great mood, look at all you accomplished while no one was looking." She paused and focused intently on him for a moment. "Why you even managed to get your hands on a bit of magic. That shouldn't be possible, but then again very few things are impossible. Does your newfound affinity for the mystic arts have anything to do with the fascinating young woman you picked up?" Wuya purred.

Her voice had a natural roll to it that made it impossible to ignore anything she said. Jack wondered if it was a magic trick to make others more pliable or if it was pure social ability. He wasn't sure which answer was more impressive.

Judging purely on what she said Jack could take a guess what she was really after. When she had regained her body, Chase had done something to block her from the vast majority of her power. She had seen that Jack had somehow acquired magic when he had none before and was after his secret so she could restore herself to her full power. She had locked in on Wanda as a possible answer. If she got her claws on the uru ring Wuya could be an enormous problem, better to let her think Wanda had some secret magic granting power.

"Wanda has many talents, but you're not here to talk about her. What are you doing on my doorstep Wuya?" Jack demanded.

Her smile never slipped despite Jack's harsh tone, indeed the only give away to her emotions were her eyes which seemed to glitter in amusement.

"We wouldn't be on your doorstep if you invited me inside Jack, I thought we worked on your manners. You are being so rude to me when I'm behaving like the perfect guest, why I even brought you a gift." Wuya chided.

She drew out the word gift as she reached into the wide sleeve of her dress and pulled out a familiar object. It was the Serpent's Tail, a Wu that made the user intangible, and Jack's eyes widened as he saw it. This was more that just any random trinket. The Serpents Tail combined with another Wu called the Reversing Mirror had been used to restore Wuya from her ghostly form to an actual body. Her giving him the Serpent's Tail was insurance against anyone releasing Chase from his prison, and implicit approval over his actions against Chase.

As far as gifts go this was a good one.

Jack accepted the gift and spoke into his phone.

"Phil, we have a guest, prepare the VIP suites." Jack said.

Wuya's smile widened.

Jack felt his relaxed mood slip a little more. He already had to deal with one unstable witch. He didn't know if he could handle another.

In the shining halls of Asgard a convening of the Norse pantheon sat in judgment, with Odin raised above the others looking down on a criminal he had already sentenced only months earlier. Odin was annoyed with the magic user whose trickery reminded him of his youngest son. He had stripped Amora the Enchantress of her magic and flung her to Midgard because she went a little too far in her attempts to steal the heart of his heir Thor. It was amusing when they were only a few hundred years old, but Thor would be having his coronation soon and Odin couldn't have this witch thinking she could seduce her way to the throne of Asgard.

Her sins were more ill timed than anything truly sinister and Odin would have lifted her banishment after his son's coronation, but that fool Scourge had taken a magical artifact down to Midgard to try to circumvent his judgment. Now the Midgardian Sorcerer Supreme brought the two of them back here for causing trouble in the magical community.

Odin sighed, what a mess, now he had to increase her punishment because the two of them had tried to disobey him. First, he had decided to banish Scourge somewhere far from his precious Amora, some hard labor under the dwarves should cool his head, but what should he do about Amora herself.

"The accused has proven slippery in the past, and though you would usually send her to Midgard she had already proven able to circumvent her punishment from there. Perhaps some time powerless in Joutenheim would fix her rebellious attitude." Said his youngest son Loki with a devious smirk.

Amora's face paled to a chalk white at the suggestion and Odin sighed again inwardly. He loved both his sons, but each could wear on his patience in their own ways and Loki's delight in the misfortune of others was one of his less flattering traits.

"Please Allfather, have mercy. Tighten the chains on my power if you must but don't send me there. I would be killed." She pleaded losing her composure.

"She obviously can't be contained to Midgard without supervision and who could we assign the task. No one here who wants to be her jailor can be trusted not to fall to her charms." Loki sneered.

Amora nearly snarled at Loki before she thought better and reigned herself in. It was Thor who spoke next, surprising Odin, perhaps his heir was finally getting a taste for governing.

"Why not make the one who bested her the jailor, that Strange fellow certainly seemed capable." Thor loudly proclaimed.

Odin was disappointed with Thor's suggestion. The Sorcerer Supreme wasn't someone he could simply foist chores onto and Strange wasn't exactly pleased with them at the moment.

"It was Jacob who defeated me." Amora corrected eagerly. "He is a powerful sorcerer who easily defeated both Skourge and myself he would have no trouble as my minder."

Odin didn't know this Jacob she spoke of, but perhaps he would be the solution to this annoying situation. He looked to the all seeing Heimdall for verification that this man was the one to defeat the two. The large man nodded in acknowledgement of Amora's claim and Odin turned his sight to his son's. Thor looked pleased as if the decision had already been made and Loki looked bored now that Amora looked to be out of true trouble.

"Very well, Amora will once again be banished to Midgard and bound to the one who defeated her." Odin pronounced.

Odin saw Amora was slumped in relief, and Thor was smiling brightly at the sentencing. Loki was smiling as well and the Allfather felt the beginnings of a headache.

Loki looking pleased wasn't the sign of anything good.

Odin sighed.


	27. Chapter 27

Jack's mind raced furiously as he led Wuya to one of the meeting rooms in the factory. He didn't actually have a VIP room, but trusted Phil to work out something before they arrived. In order to buy Phil time to work Jack took a scenic route showing off some of his factory to Wuya while they walked.

She had been both his friend and enemy in the past and while he did not trust her she could still be a valuable ally if he used her correctly. She was competent, intelligent and more than capable of holding her own in a fight against just about anyone, even without her magic.

There were a few problems with teaming up with the ancient witch though, the first was what she wanted. He knew she was interested in getting her magic back and had taken an interest in Wanda, seemingly connecting Jack's recent magical prowess to the young witch. He wouldn't know until they talked a bit more, but he suspected she would want to interact with Wanda, if he told her no she would do it without his permission and if he kicked her out he would have made an unnecessary enemy. Perhaps he could use her interest in Wanda to his advantage.

Second was a problem he only realized now, he didn't really need Wuya for anything. She was of course helpful in collecting the Wu but Jack hadn't thought about hunting Wu since before his near death at Chase's claws. It had been months since he had last fought the monks and he found himself at a crossroads. Would he continue building his empire and grow more and more powerful that way or would he resume chasing magical trinkets that increased individual fighting ability. The safe answer was to focus on growing his empire and Wuya wasn't helpful for that.

He considered the dilemma for a full moment before he broke out into a grin. Why not do both?

No one ever took over the world by playing it safe.

The last problem was the danger Wuya presented. She was conniving, powerful, unlikely to take orders and, if she got her magic back, capable of destroying everything Jack built with a wave of her hand. She would betray him the moment a better offer presented itself and would throw Jack under the bus if she got the opportunity. With her around life would be so much more exciting.

God, he had missed her.

Jack opened a door and led Wuya into a room he remembered as having a simple table lined with chairs.

There was a feast prepared, a luxurious sofa at one side of the room with soft music playing through the speakers, Phil had done it again. The assistant himself stood flanked by a line of drones dressed up as butlers. Jack watched amused as Wuya was swarmed by robotic servants wanting to feed her, take her coat, rub her feet and attend to her every need. Phil had an excellent poker face, but Jack could tell by the shining of his eyes that his assistant was laughing internally.

Did Phil have something against Wuya?

The witch herself was only phased for a moment, quickly adapting to having a swarm of servants at her beck and call and soon she was lounging on the couch being fed grapes while a robot gave her a foot rub.

"I must say you have certainly moved up in the world Jack, a girl could get used to this." The sorceress purred.

"You can enjoy my hospitality for as long as you are my guest Wuya, but I wonder. What exactly is it you are after? The gift certainly buys you some goodwill, but what do you think you can gain coming to me now? I haven't gone Wu hunting in months, I certainly don't need your help selling my phones, so what could it be? Are you perhaps looking to buy one of my fine products?" Jack asked leadingly.

He couldn't make assumptions, Jack wanted to hear her say exactly what it was she was after and judging from the slight down turn of Wuya's lips that wasn't what she wanted to hear. The witch probably expected him to say something arrogant about her crawling back to him to which she would simply smile and nod and everything would go back to the way it used to be.

Not this time.

"Oh Jack, you can't just stop hunting the Wu. It doesn't work like that. The Xiaolin and Heylin forces naturally must find a balance. You took away Chase so someone else must fill the void, more powerful than the last, and that person is you." Wuya stated like it was a simple fact.

"Why does that matter? If I do nothing a new evil will crawl out of the woodwork to replace Chase. The monks will fight against it, win, and everything will continue on as normal." Jack stated unimpressed.

"You used to care about evil prevailing over good, what happened?" Wuya said almost sounding disappointed.

That wasn't fair, she was attacking his pride as a villain.

"I will emerge victorious over all challengers, I am well on my way to accruing enough clout to make a bid for real power. I am going to take over the world and I don't need any magical trinkets to do it." Jack declared.

Wuya was smirking at him and Jack felt his stomach drop a little. Had he fallen into some sort of verbal trap?

Just as she opened her mouth to speak the door to the meeting room burst open and Wanda stormed in. Her eyes fell on Wuya and she stood glaring at the ancient Witch.

"What is she doing here?" Wanda demanded sharply.

Jack was a little nonplussed, when had Wanda had a chance to meet Wuya and what was with the hostile attitude?

"Hello Wanda, did you want to be part of this meeting?" Jack asked, confused.

Wanda turned to Jack and froze, her face losing its anger and taking on the blank expression that Jack had come to associate with Wanda.

"Hello child." Wuya greeted with a cheery wave.

The younger witch twitched at the friendly greeting from Wuya, which was more emotion than Jack could usually get out of Wanda. It didn't look like she was going to answer his question though.

"As for what she is doing here, we were just about to get to that. Wuya, what can I do for you today?" Jack said in his best businessman tone.

Phil moved to Wanda's side and led her to a seat and she allowed herself to be guided without putting up too much of a fuss, Wanda's focus never left the visitor even as she absently sat at the table.

"There is so much you can do for me Jack, so many things I want, but for today I am merely visiting an old friend to discuss the future."

The ancient witch looked perfectly comfortable chatting with him and if Jack didn't know better, he would have thought she belonged here. Her poise was impressive considering the fact that Jack had her surrounded and outgunned in the center of his factory, she had placed herself at his mercy, even the robot that was currently rubbing her feet could easily disable her at the first sign she was trying something. Was she that confident that Jack wouldn't act against her, or did she have an escape plan. She probably had an escape plan.

"And what future would you like to talk about?" Jack asked neutrally.

He was glad that Wanda had interrupted their conversation earlier, it gave him a chance to regain his composure. He had a habit of getting worked up when challenged and Wuya would happily take advantage of that to get him to agree to something he probably shouldn't.

"Why a future where you take over the world of course." Wuya purred.

"I hardly need your help to take over the world, in fact I don't see why I need you at all." Jack bluntly announced.

Wuya pouted, which would have looked natural if you weren't aware of her nature. Knowing her age and power Jack couldn't help but find the action ridiculous.

"One cannot challenge the world alone unless they have overwhelming power on their side, which you don't Jack. You need actual allies, not tinker toys and amateur spellcasters." Wuya arrogantly spouted.

She looked directly at Phil and then at Wanda while dismissing his choice of companions.

Jack felt the need to defend Phil and Wanda, but his instinct told him that was what Wuya was aiming for, still if he let Wuya disparage them and he didn't say anything he would be a poor boss.

"My allies are numerous and very capable as they demonstrated against Chase, and Wanda will not be an amateur for long at her pace." Jack praised his subordinates.

The ancient witch smiled like a shark and Jack internally groaned.

"Oh, she's a little prodigy, is she? And how is she learning magic? From you?" Wuya questioned.

Wuya's feigned concern was grating and he was unwilling to confirm her suspicions, unfortunately he wasn't Wuya's target.

"Yes, Jack is teaching me magic." Wanda blurted out.

Wuya's grin was predatory.

"You are limiting her Jack, she needs to learn far more than the basics you can teach her." The experienced witch chided.

Wanda's face took on a dangerously red hue and she looked like she might pop. Her red energy flared around her before her necklace pulsed preventing a dangerous situation. Wuya observed the process with undisguised fascination and Wanda glared back at her furiously.

"Are you volunteering?" Jack queried.

This was what the witch had been after from the beginning. The question was to what extent Wuya was interested in Wanda. It could be that she thought Wanda was the secret to getting her magic back, but that might be a smokescreen to disguise her real motivations, still the prospect of a tutor in magic was a tempting one. Jack knew far more about magic than Wuya probably realized, but he simply didn't have the availabilty or desire to spend that much one on one time teaching Wanda. He had been planning to talk to Dr. Strange about borrowing some books for her to work from when he sent her off to school, he had even planned to introduced her to Lucy King the young girl he had saved who was also learning magic from a woman named Clea, if Wanda could get control of her temper enough to interact with the young girl.

The thought of a whole generation of magic users trained by Wuya and loyal to him flashed through his mind and he saw Wuya smirking at him. Damn. He was getting ahead of himself.

"Why, yes. I am volunteering. If you just do a few little things for me." Wuya said in a low inviting voice.

Jack had to force himself not to roll his eyes at her antics. He wondered if her blatant manipulation worked on other people. He knew it was just a distraction and she had far subtler manipulations that you could miss when she winked at you. Even now he was probably giving her exactly what she wanted, but that didn't mean he would make it easy.

"Oh, what is it you desire, Wuya?" Jack asked.

"Nothing much I assure you. Just to keep doing as you've always done and keep hunting the Wu, a place for myself and being pampered like this wouldn't go amiss either, oh and one little thing, I want my magic back, Jack." Wuya said seriously.

All pretense of friendliness vanished as her face turned deadly serious and Jack felt like he was staring down a cobra. Jack stared back unwilling to be intimidated.

"Of course, you do." He stated. "It is not impossible to get you some magic. I would have to run some experiments, and it wouldn't be the massive amount you are accustomed to controlling. I am not sure what Chase did that cut you of from your own well of power but if it didn't stop when I sealed him away I don't know what would fix it. We could try turning you into a ghost and then reforming your body again." Jack suggested.

Wuya's eyes widened and then narrowed in thought and he could tell she was considering it.

"I think I will take the smaller amount of magic over being sealed. Aside from me not wanting to be a ghost again for any length of time it just wouldn't work. When Dashi made the original puzzle box he made it to contain me and only me. If you copied his design, then what you made is a box to seal Chase. Even if you make another it would only work on Chase just as Dashi's would only work on me." Wuya lectured.

Jack had known that of course, he had made the suggestion in order to subtly threaten Wuya. He didn't want her thinking she could barge in here and walk all over him.

"Well then Wuya I think I can make your wishes a reality, and in return you will be employed by Smith Innovations as a magical trainer, Phil fetch an employment contract for our newest hire." Jack stated briskly.

Phil already had the forms in hand as Jack gave the order, damn he was efficient. Wuya elegantly raised an eyebrow at the paperwork that was being handed to her before a loud snapping sound shook the room causing her to drop the papers.

The lights flickered, and a screen popped up in front of Jack once more displaying the security feed of the entrance to the factory.

A man dressed in green wearing a strange helmet adorned with stylized ram horns stood on a burnt circle in his lawn. Behind him was a familiar figure bound in chains. It was the witch who had been working with Skurge, what was her name again? Amy or something?

He hadn't interacted with her much.

To be fair he had been distracted by the giant axe wielding super warrior who destroyed his house. She had lost almost instantly after Jack beat Skurge, so Jack mostly remembered her as 'that witch who was also there.'

Oh well, her name didn't matter, and he had more important things to focus on.

"God damn it, I just had that grass put in." Jack lamented.

Amora was not quite Loki's friend, but he disliked her less than most of the idiots he had to put up with. She was one of the only people that he could talk magic with and her infatuation with Thor made it easy to manipulate her into doing stupid things. He still laughed when he thought about all the times he had tricked Amora into hexing Thor's more disagreeable admirers. So, when she had ended up on trial for defying Odin's punishment he experienced a rare moment of goodwill and decided to help her out.

Defying Odin's orders would not usually be something one could attempt without severe consequences, but Loki was good at getting his way. He fed lines to his brother who was all to happy to suggest a compromise to Loki's absurdly harsh suggestion, allowing Thor to play hero opposite Loki's villain.

It worked like a charm and now he was escorting Amora to Midgard. It wasn't even a particularly long punishment, just until after Thor's coronation.

Loki had plans for that as well, he was thinking he might let in some frost giants to cause a disturbance right before the ceremony. Thor would build up a head of steam and do something stupid demonstrating to all of Asgard that he was not ready to be king and hopefully get the coronation put off another few dozen years rendering the whole Amora situation rather pointless.

He traveled the Bifrost with a bound Amora to the home of the sorcerer that had defeated her and her hopelessly besotted companion. Loki was looking forward to meeting the mortal wizard who had bested a warrior like Skurge.

He arrived in front of a building with an pleasnatly inviting color scheme and he took a moment to gather his bearings, Bifrost travel could be a bit disorienting. A hole opened in front of the two and an enormous metal contraption sprouted from the ground like a plant. The strange metal thing focused on Loki and began to spark menacingly. A friendly female voice chimed from seemingly nowhere, at odds with what was clearly a deadly weapon.

"Greetings trespassers, and welcome to Smith Innovations. You are outside the clearly marked visitor's area. Please follow the provided path away from the restricted section or be destroyed." The voice pleasantly informed.

A blue light appeared in front of Loki marking a path to a paved area about twenty feet from where the Bifrost had deposited him.

Well this was new.

Midgard sure had changed since he last visited.

Whistling a pleasant tune, Loki followed the illuminated path, the bound Amora trailing behind him.


	28. Chapter 28

Oh god they were multiplying.

Accompanying the witch, he had defeated and turned over to Dr. Strange, was another obviously powerful magical person who, apart from the pressure he exuded merely by existing, wore one of the most unique hats Jack had ever seen. It was a golden metal helmet adorned with enormous curling metallic ram's horns. He kind of wanted one but doubted he would be able to pull it off quite as effortlessly as the stranger, besides it was tacky to copy the dress styles of others.

Quite apart from the stranger's novel fashion sense, that would normally have put him Jack's good graces by itself, this fellow didn't seem inclined to be antagonistic judging by the curious glances he was sending everywhere. Indeed, he was acting like a typical tourist. If Jack couldn't feel the magical pressure coming off the man or see the subdued witch following docilely behind him Jack could have mistaken him for an eccentric rich guy come to tour the facilities.

"What are doing dealing with Asgardians Jack?" Wuya asked askance.

Asgardians?

As in the Norse mythology?

So, that was what they were, Jack thought that Skurge guy was way to strong to be a normal human but had just caulked it up to magical shenanigans.

He was not terribly surprised to hear that the mythical realm of Asgard was real, he had seen stranger things, but he wasn't quite willing to admit he had been ignorant before.

"I caught that witch in the chains. As for what they want, let's find out." Jack said in a chipper tone.

Jack had learned long ago that if you wanted to have any kind of success you needed to be able to adapt to new situations in an instant.

So, adapt he did.

Jack quickly made his way down to the area that his uninvited guests had been led to which happened to be a garden. He had gone a little crazy with his experiments with magically growing plants and had been growing huge fields of various greeneries all throughout the land of nowhere hoping to make the land a bit more hospitable. Jack had decided, with Phil's advice, to grow a garden for visitors to enjoy at the factory, and that was where he met the magical intruders.

"Hello, I am sorry to say that we are outside of visiting hours, so the normal tour isn't running." Jack announced catching the attention of the two.

Jack had not made the journey alone as Phil walked deferentially at his right side while Wanda followed. On his left Wuya prowled like a cat unable to curb her curiosity at the unexpected arrivals. The boys, who had apparently been listening in, fanned out behind the procession.

"I am not here for any tour mortal, at least not today. I am Loki Odinson Prince of Asgard and you, Jacob Smith also known as Jack Spicer, have been presented with the dubious honor of playing babysitter to dear Amora here while she serves out her sentence for sedition to the throne of Asgard." Loki said cheerily.

"Oh, you're Odin's boy, so that man finally went and had children, and such a handsome child at that." Wuya cut in, slinking up to a bemused Loki.

"How do you know my father, miss?" Loki asked indulgently.

"I am Wuya, Odin and I go way back. Me commanding legions of rock trolls to conquer Asia, him cutting a path of destruction through Norway. Oh yes, we knew each other, but that was long ago, are you perhaps Frigga's boy?" Wuya recounted fondly.

As Wuya chatted about events that must have occurred thousands of years ago with a politely attentive Loki, Jack mulled the situation over. This was apparently Loki the Norse god of mischief, the actual one, from mythology. They were also trying to foist responsibility for handling a criminal off to him rather than just throw her in god jail or something.

Did gods have jails?

It wouldn't be hard to simply shrink her down again and throw her into a gerbil cage, but why should it be him that did it?

How could he take advantage of the situation?

Ugh.

Amora walked over to him. She couldn't quite make the prisoner thing she had going on look anything less than miserable though she managed to keep her head up proud. Still, he wasn't feeling particularly sympathetic for his former enemy.

"This is a rare opportunity for you Jacob, having Asgard owe you a favor isn't something most mortal sorcerers can claim. You can ask Loki for a boon in exchange for your services." She spoke.

She was trying rather blatantly to get him to agree to what?

Imprison her? Why would she want that?

What would happen to her if he said no?

Jack grinned cruelly on the inside while on the outside maintaining his businesslike neutral face. He was not inclined to be kind to this woman who had ordered him kidnapped and had his house destroyed in the process. He decided to taunt her a little.

"Are you so eager to go back into the hat? I don't have devoted cell space you know." Jack referenced her original capture.

Amora shuddered at the thought but her face hardened in resolve.

"Better than the alternative." She conceded

Really, whatever her fate was if he didn't agree to take her was worse than unescapable solitary confinement in the dark. These Asgard guys were kind of harsh. Not enough to get him to agree to take her, but still, harsh.

"You shouldn't accept, I don't want her around." Wanda said from behind him.

"Oh, but Wanda Loki might be willing to give me something nice in exchange for taking care of his prisoner for him." Jack said clearly.

Loki, who had been distracted by Wuya, took that moment to interject.

"You should be honored to aide Asgard." He said proudly.

Loki was an excellent speaker, very convincing.

"No. I think I want something a bit more tangible than pride, thanks." Jack dismissed.

Loki's gaze hardened.

"Then how about the enmity of Asgard if you refuse, we are not enemies to make lightly mortal." Threatened the god.

Jack shrugged.

"Fine, fine be that way, I suppose Wanda does need a target to practice her spells on. How about we turn her into a guinea pig and keep her in a shoebox." Jack offered.

Wanda actually smiled at the suggestion, He didn't think he had ever seen her smile before, progress. Who knew all he had to do was suggest she torture one of his enemies. Good to know for the future.

Wuya was giggling demurely lifting the back of her left hand to cover her mouth, faker. Loki smiled, chocking off a laugh at the suggestion, well he was the god of mischief, supposedly.

It was unsurprisingly Amora who spoke out in protest.

"That's not terribly heroic Jacob, women won't like you if you say things like that." Amora pouted.

Jack sniffed derisively. She was obviously trying to look seductive, but the intended effect was ruined by her obvious discomfort bound by chains as she was.

"Heroes don't get to conquer the world." Jack scoffed.

Loki perked up.

"You fancy yourself a conqueror?" inquired Loki intrigued.

"Nah, to conquer would mean you take what you want by force, thus inevitably what you take would be taken back or destroyed by those you trampled along the way. The only true way to seize power and keep it is to win the support of the majority. If you can't even convince your people to love you, you aren't any sort of ruler. These things take time, talent, and patience." Jack said a little too freely.

The would-be ruler of earth stood confidently among a powerful group of people, any of which could probably take him down if they decided too.

Yet none even considered it.

"I like you Jacob, Amora will probably only be in your custody for a matter of months until my brother Thor has his coronation. If you make sure she does nothing monumentally stupid, and also nothing terrible happens to her, I will gift you something interesting. Here at this interesting home you have, I notice you focus on the production of new technologies, If you look after Amora for the next three months, I will gift you a piece of Asgardian technology. How does that sound?" Loki granted seemingly amused by the whole situation.

That was something JAck simply couldn't say no to. He thought for a moment about the offer and decided that yes, he would take a piece of advanced god technology.

"You have yourself a deal Loki Odinson, I would be interested in a device that could help me monitor the land that I own." Said Jack thinking of how he could improve the Gaia system he was creating.

Loki smiled in acknowledgment.

"Then we have a deal, I look forward to talking to you and amora again in three months." Said the god of Mischief.

After Loki agreed, he made a signal and once again scorched the greenery as he vanished in a crack of lightning. The chains around Amora vanished along with Loki, and Jack had the feeling she could be more trouble than he bargained for, eh there was a simple solution for dealing with the depowered Asgardian witch.

"Wuya, you betrayed me to go to Chase who I in turn sealed, if you want to be back in my good graces you can be in charge of Amora for the next few months as well as a tutor for Wanda, I can give you some of the magic batteries I have been using for myself if you do." Jack tempted.

"Oh, I would be more than happy to be the warden for the lovely miss Amora." Wuya smiled evilly

"Excellent, Than let me tell the three of you what you will be doing for the immediate future." Said Jack happily.

Wuya, Amora, and Wanda all looked at Jack with confusion etched on their faces.

"There is a certain school of mutants I want you to infiltrate, Wanda you are to oversee these two." Jack said.

Wanda's face lit up with an enthusiasm Jack had never seen before, Wuya looke miffed and Amora looked resigned.

"Wanda, I have arranged for a residence close to Xaviers' school that you will be living in. I also have a present for you." Jack handed her the modified cloak he had made for her, it was the same as the red overcoat she had taken to wearing. Only, it had a hood that Jack had designed to block psychic interference from Xavier, it was really just lined with tinfoil, but hey, don't argue with what works.

"I am giving you authority over these two while you work. You know what you have to do. I will also assign my four chief warriors to you while enrolling you in the local high school. Have fun." Jack turned away from a pleased Wanda.

The best way to deal with crazy subordinates was to have them deal with each other, what was the worst that could happen?

Jack whistled a happy tune to himself as he walked away from the three combative witches who were all glaring at each other, he was not dealing with that today, no sir.

Charles Xavier sat at his monstrous machine cerebro as he attempted to track down the mutant signal of his lost patient Wanda Maximoff. He had almost succeeded in tracking her down when the signal simply vanished.

The only mutants who had succeded in blocking his psychic powers before were his brother, who had taken the name Juggernaut and his old friend Magneto. Both using strange helmets. If only he knew the mysterious method that they were using to block his psychic powers. He sighed and placed the headpiece of cerebro down.

Some things he was simply not meant to know.


	29. Chapter 29

Jack retreated from the situation with the three witches, leaving Phil to take care of things.

He had been forced to take some dangerous risks in order to gain the power he had, and he stood to lose all of it if he made a single misstep. Loki and Amora seemed to accept that Jack was someone worth respecting and thus wouldn't attack without provocation, their respect for him was derived from his victory over Skurge and the mistaken impression that Jack was a powerful sorcerer. If Amora cottoned onto the fact that he was closer to the wizard of Oz than Merlin, using his robots, surprise and a depressingly small bag of tricks to defeat his more powerful opponents, she might feel bold enough to try something against him.

Wuya was like a gust of wind that could knock over the house of cards that was his powerbase. She knew more about what Jack was capable of than anyone besides Phil and if she decided to turn the others against him she could do it easily. Jack would need to impress upon Wuya why betrayal was a bad idea.

Wanda was a powder keg that could blow up in his face at any moment. He had been spying on her and having Phil give his own opinion on the mental state of the youngest witch in his employ and the prognosis wasn't good. Wanda had latched onto Jack as a sort of all knowing godly figure. She thought he could do no wrong and if what he had been reading of her mental state from both Phil's reports and the records he had stolen from the asylum were accurate, then when she realized that Jack was only a man all of those emotions would invert, turning her against Jack. She would realize he wasn't infallible the instant he lost a fight or even forgot something simple like a birthday. Jack remembered watching footage of Wanda shrieking wildly while she mowed through a small army of training drones and grimaced. He didn't want her turning against him. She was showing signs of improvement mentally and Jack hoped some time with the good doctor Xavier would stabilize her or at least focus her inevitable emotional meltdown at someone besides Jack.

Phil was the backbone of his success. Jack wouldn't have been able to accomplish even a fraction of what he had without his incredibly competent assistant, but even Phil could potentially turn against him. Jack trusted him not to, but Phil was in the perfect position to get rid of Jack and take over everything they had built. Hell, Phil practically ran the whole thing already. Phil was loyal but if he decided that Jack wasn't doing a good enough job as the boss that would be the end.

Part of the secret of his robot's intelligence was their ability to grow and adapt. That meant that any loyalty his creations held for him had to be nurtured and maintained or they might decide that obeying Jack was unnecessary.

This freewill wasn't restricted to Phil. Any of his boys could decide to turn against him. He knew Raph had been developing heroic tendencies, and Mike had a certain natural friendliness that could put them at odds if Jack had to do something overly villainous. Don had become his science buddy and had started working on his own inventions, they were still basic at this point, but he would improve and perhaps decide that Jack was no longer necessary. Leo would side with his brothers no matter what they decided. Not that any of those scenarios were likely because the boys loved him.

Every single person he interacted with could take him in a fair fight.

Any of them could take him down if they just decided to.

He had only won so far because he prepared thoroughly before every battle and ambushed his opponents while they were unprepared. The only reason he could confidently confront someone as powerful as Loki without showing his fear was due to the fact that, as long as he kept a ring copy of himself elsewhere, he was effectively unkillable.

Still, Jack was in no hurry to experience death again.

"Phil, escort Wuya up to my lab please." Jack ordered.

All of these powerful people had to be handled just so, or Jack would find everything he had built destroyed. He felt like he was walking on a knife's edge and anything could make him fall.

Jack grinned.

That was what it meant to be in charge.

Wuya was having more fun today than she had had since she last took over the world.

 _What had Jack been up to while she had been looking away?_ The ancient witch thought as she followed the robotic servant up to meet Jack.

Sure, her contacts with the various pantheons of gods was over fifteen hundred years out of date, and she had never heard of Loki, Skurge or Amora, but the Asgardians that she remembered were fierce warriors who she would have trouble with even at her full power. She would still win of course, because she was great, but from Loki's description of this Skurge character, Jack had beaten someone truly formidable.

He had changed so much in these few short months and he was doing incredibly well for himself, but she knew Jack.

He was doing well for now, but it was almost inevitable that he would trip at the finish line. It was simply a part of who Jack was. He had his talents but simply lacked the personal strength to make his dream of world conquest a reality. That didn't mean Wuya couldn't take advantage while Jack was doing well, and she would bail when he failed. It would be simple to steal both Amora and Wanda away to make them her subordinates when the time came to leave Jack in the dust again. Amora was basically obliged to obey orders until her sentence was up and Wanda was obviously emotionally vulnerable and thus easy to manipulate.

She entered the lab area alone the robot opening the door for her but not following her in. She followed the sound of active machinery and soon found Jack fiddling with one of his toys. He was taller now and had developed a presence that she knew strangers would find intimidating, but as she looked at him all she saw was the silly little boy who monologued to himself in his parent's basement.

"Wuya, you're here, excellent. If you are going to be looking after both Wanda and Amora for the immediate future then you can't be left without your magic, Wanda would run right over you." Jack proclaimed manically.

What?

She hadn't actually thought Jack would, or even could, restore her magic to her. Her earlier demand had mostly been to put him on the backfoot, so he wouldn't question her motives for returning, the real reason was she was bored.

She had assumed that his agreement to restore her power to be a mere boast, but if he was serious this was a monumental opportunity.

Jack pulled out a large cylinder with a simple handgrip attached.

"Just grab the handle and try to access your magic. The machine will do the rest." Jack said in a clinical manner.

Hesitating only a moment Wuya grabbed the handle and felt for the familiar warmth of her magic. The effect was almost instant. She felt herself being filled in a manner infinitely more satisfying than even the finest meal. All to soon the sensation faded and Wuya felt a tiny fraction of her true power return to her. She could feel it trying to slip away but she easily corralled the power using it to water the desert of her magic. It worked. It was just the tiniest bit of her full potential and she would have to retrain herself back up to her old standards, which could take years, but she had her magic back.

She flexed her power to summon a single rock troll to be her servant but just as it began to form she felt her power stagger. What?

"If you want to play with you power do it outside, there are many delicate machines in here." Jack chided.

How dare this fool hinder her!

She may not be able to twist the world to her whims but even her meager power was enough to destroy this interloper.

Wuya flung a deadly green energy at Jack only for it to splash harmlessly against his out stretched palm.

"You think I would give you something you could use against me? Don't be foolish Wuya, I have become more than I was when you last knew me. I will forgive you this once for your actions if you do your duty and raise the young witch to something resembling competence, at least she knows what it means to be loyal." Jack bit out harshly

Uh oh, she might have messed up.

"Use that idiot Amora however you see fit, but don't think I will forget you tried to use my gift to you against me, I can take it away as easily as I granted it. Oh, and dinner is in an hour we are having shrimp." Jack finished with a smile.

Jack had turned back to his work, ignoring her while she stared dumbly at the back of his head. After a moment she left the way she had come.

What was that?

He had completely blocked her curse, how?

Maybe him succeeding wasn't quite as farfetched as she thought as she luxuriated in the feel of her returned power.

Wuya was thoughtful as she made her way back down to find Wanda and Amora. She had to establish dominance after all. If she was going to be working for Jack, she wouldn't be playing second fiddle to a lesser witch.

Jack let out a breath as Wuya left the room.

He had put on a show of neutralizing her magic just as she cast it. If that had hit him he would probably have been turned inside out or something equally as bad, but his plan had worked perfectly. Now she would be more hesitant to turn against him believing him more powerful than he really was. He felt a kinship with the wizard of Oz at that moment, he understood that showmanship was just as important as real magic, besides Merlin may have been the most famous wizard of all time, but he never got to rule.

Hm, _Jack the Great and Powerful_. That sounded nice.

Raven, also known as Mystique, sat in the office of her current disguise as the principal of Bayside Highschool. She took the position in order to become an authority figure in the lives of dozens of young mutants who would be passing through these halls thanks to the machinations of Charles Xavier. Still as the principal she had to go through the boring duties associated with the job thanks to the identity she had assumed. Sometimes shapeshifting could be such a hassle.

Principal Darkholm rifled through the paperwork for incoming students with long practiced boredom, her boss's son Pietro would be transferring here for his senior year thanks to her own efforts along with several other promising young mutants not yet aligned with Xavier. She was even planning on sending her own adopted daughter who had taken to calling herself Rogue to this school, so she could keep an eye on her.

In the pile of innocuous busywork Raven spotted something shocking. Her entire frame froze in an eerie way only possible to those who had complete control over their biology. There, in the pile of applications was something that shouldn't have been there.

On an application for transfer page in front of the shapeshifter, in clear print was a name that had been causing her master no end of trouble.

Wanda Maximoff was coming to Bayside Highschool.


	30. Chapter 30

_Authors Note: I am back from vacation, let the story continue._

* * *

Ugh, sending Wanda to Bayside Highschool was way harder than Jack had anticipated.

Perhaps he had become to accustomed to the simple ways of villainy where escaping prison and continuing your life was as simple as talking to the local crime lord, but doing things legally made everything so complicated. Sure, Phil took care of all the problems that could be solved by paperwork and throwing money at lawyers but, apparently, uncle Sam took notice when wall melting mental patients disappeared. Jack had just gotten off his third conference call with a Colonel named William Stryker who was rapidly becoming one of Jack's least favorite people. He had to assure the annoying man repeatedly that Wanda had in fact been discharged legally, ha, and was ready to be reintegrated into society. Phil had forged the paperwork and bribed the right people so that on paper Wanda was officially an outpatient and the Colonel should have no way of knowing otherwise, yet still the man persisted.

Stryker was adamant that Wanda should be thrown right back into the asylum and it had looked like Jack was going to have to do something unkind to the obsessed man. It was when Jack repeated to the man for the third time that Wanda was perfectly under control that he revealed the necklace that regulated Wanda's outbursts. That finally got the colonel to back off. The military man did a complete turnaround in attitude almost completely forgetting about Wanda in his efforts to obtain the power regulating technology. Jack had dark suspicions about the man but the necklace itself was rather harmless and wouldn't do anything to a non-magic user.

It shouldn't be this hard to send a girl with no criminal record to high school.

Jack found himself with a ridiculously lucrative military contract to make more of the power regulators and Wanda was officially in the custody of Jacob Smith until such time as she was cleared by a government approved therapist of which there was only one. Who of course ended up being Charles Xavier.

Whenever mutants were involved Xavier mysteriously appeared.

Just how deep was the telepath's influence?

Jack had infiltrated Xavier's compound with his spy fly weeks ago and after reviewing everything he had gathered about the man, who claimed to be the foremost expert on mutation in the world, Jack couldn't help but be impressed by the picture that was coming together.

Charles Xavier was an incredibly competent supervillain.

His compound, which the telepath called a school for gifted youngsters, was one of the most technologically advanced places Jack had ever heard of. The man had laser turrets built into his lawn like so many sprinklers and the building itself had been decked out with security features that it put even Jack's home to shame. The man had a training room that utilized holographic technology, which had apparently existed before Jack invented his own, and robots to train the young mutants he was gathering into what was clearly his own personal superpowered army. He tracked down these mutants at their most vulnerable right after they developed their powers by tracking every mutant on the planet with an enormous machine that magnified his already rather frightening mind powers.

All that and he didn't do anything stupid to give himself away. He forged political connections and was a well known and respected member of the community all while he built up his powerbase until he finally became untouchable.

Jack had a new evil hero. Charles Xavier was everything a supervillain should be.

He had to meet him.

So, Jack found himself decked out as Jacob Smith going to an appointment with the professor to set up counselling sessions for Wanda. School was starting in just a few weeks and Wanda needed the professor's signature if she wanted to attend school. It would be a good test for her to interact with Xavier as the young witch had some explosive emotions toward the professor for not getting her out of the asylum.

Jack felt that If she could continue her sessions without incident she would really be ready to attend high school without turning anyone into a newt, not that he particularly cared what happened to some obnoxious teenagers.

The luxurious building that Phil had procured for Wanda and the boys to live in while attending school was only a few blocks away from Xavier's compound and Jack barely gave it a glance as he passed it on his way to visit the professor.

The school for gifted youngsters was a repurposed mansion and Jack let out an impressed whistle as he walked up the path thorough a beautifully maintained topiary garden and up past what he knew was a disguised minefield, but he didn't have to worry about that because he had an appointment.

As he approached the front door a woman he recognized from his spying moved to intercept him. Her name was Ororo Munroe and, according to the files Jack had read, she was an insanely powerful weather manipulator who was considered a goddess amongst her people before Xavier picked her up and made her into a history teacher.

Jack thought that goddess fit her better than historian.

She was an elegant African woman in her mid-twenties who stood with an assured confidence that only hinted at the enormous power she wielded. Her hair, which was held out of her eyes with purple cloth, was a striking white and hung to the middle of her back. She wore a purple kanga dress with a white shirt and sandals along with a warm smile which Jack returned with a wide grin.

"Hello miss, my name is Jacob Smith, but please call me Jack." Jack said holding out his hand in invitation which she shook, never losing her serene smile.

"Hello Jack, my name is Ororo Munroe, please call me Ororo. I understand you have an appointment with the professor about a new student?" Ororo asked.

Though it was worded as a statement she was clearly asking a question and Jack was never the type to withhold information.

"Yep, Wanda wants to attend school with her peers, but uncle Sam says she needs a clean bill of mental health from the good professor first." Jack said to Ororo while she led him to Xavier's office. "Not that she should have ever been chucked into the asylum in the first place, if she is crazy then it is because she spent ten years in a box not because she has powers. She has made incredible strides in the past few months of rehabilitation though she still has some justifiable anger issues that I hope Xavier will be able to help with." Jack shared freely.

Ororo's eyes hardened and her smile became brittle while Jack spoke of Wanda's experience being stuck in her cell at the asylum, but Jack felt that she was empathizing rather than disbelieving.

"That poor girl, but how did you become involved with Wanda or even mutants in general, are you a mutant as well?" Ororo questioned.

Hm, so she didn't know the story already, was that because Xavier didn't know or just that he hadn't informed his subordinate?

It didn't matter, when dealing with mind readers it was best to be as honest as possible even if you could block mental intrusions like he could with his specially prepared hat which had been given the same treatment as Wanda's cloak.

"Funny story, I had no idea Wanda was a mutant when I first learned about her. I was told that a witch was thrown into the insane asylum when she was a young child. I dabble a bit in magic myself so of course I couldn't ignore the situation and went to meet miss Maximoff as soon as I could. I was very impressed with the young woman I found. Not only did she have an incredible potential for magic, but she was also a powerful mutant. I got her out of that tiny cell as fast as I could and, though she was a bit unstable from her long incarceration, with a little care and attention she blossomed. That girl has an unlimited potential for what she is capable of and I hope that with a little help from you and Xavier she can live up to that potential." Jack locked gazes with Ororo as he spoke, and she stared back with equal focus. "I know it is a lot to ask out of the blue like this, but the thing she is lacking most at the moment is a positive role model to show her the way life should be instead of the mess she has experienced up till now, do you think you could find the time to talk to her, Miss Monroe." Jack asked.

As soon as he spoke Jack knew he had said the right thing. Ororo's serene pleasantness melted into a far warmer expression that made him feel like he had just made a friend. He pointedly didn't answer the question of whether or not he was a mutant, he didn't know if she was antihuman or not.

"Of course, as an educator the wellbeing of my students is of the utmost importance to me, I would be happy to talk to Wanda, but please call me Ororo there is no need for formality." She smiled brightly as she spoke.

It turned out that Ororo was fascinated by the subject of magic and the conversation turned to their respective experiences with spellcasters in the past. Apparently being regarded as a goddess meant that she had more than her fair share of knowledge about African magics which Jack had very limited experience with and he was as fascinated by Ororo's thoughts on the subject as she was with his expertise on Asian magics.

"I have bought a house near here where Wanda and my boys will be staying, Wuya will be teaching Wanda in the ways of magic but she, well, she isn't exactly the best person to model yourself after. Don't get me wrong she is the most competent witch in existence, but she is a little, well, she's blatantly evil." Jack admitted freely. "She taught me everything I know about magic, there is simply no one better, but I don't want Wanda turning out like her."

Ororo scowled at Jack.

"You shouldn't be leaving an impressionable young woman under the influence of an evil witch." She bit out.

"Oh, I have Wuya under control for the immediate future, at least until she finds a way to betray me again." Jack felt almost wistful at the thought of the many times Wuya had betrayed him, and for some reason Ororo was looking at him with what seemed like pity.

"Anyway, that is part of the reason why I want you to take part in Wanda's life. I know she wants to be the best person she can be, and if she is exposed to as many ways of life as possible I am confident she will choose the path best for her." Jack smiled at his new friend as they found themselves in front of Xavier's office.

"It has been incredibly reassuring talking to you, I know Wanda will be in the best hands possible with you here." Jack said as he fished out a phone from one of his many pockets.

"This is one of my products from Smith Innovations, the bar phone, it has my information programmed within and if you ever want to talk I am available. I expect updates on how Wanda is doing on at least a weekly basis. Now, I have to talk to the good professor, it has been a pleasure Ororo." Jack said grinning at the weather manipuator as he opened the door.

She smiled back at him and slipped the phone into a pocket as she turned to leave while Jack entered a room with the most powerful telepath on the planet contained within.

Jack thought he had managed to make a good impression, of course Xavier would have been listening in on the entire conversation through the mutant known as Storm even if he couldn't read Jack's own thoughts.

Jack had always had a talent for networking. He had a working relationship with almost every villain and hero he had ever met, even if they didn't particularly like him. He could call up over a dozen villains for a big job, and they would probably respond if the pay was good enough.

As Jack walked into the finely furnished office he was strongly reminded of visiting the dean over at MIT right down to the various accreditations decorating the walls. Xavier sure was thing the whole school principal thing seriously.

The man himself radiated a presence of trustworthiness that couldn't possibly be natural as he maneuvered his wheelchair to meet Jack halfway into the room abandoning a half-played game of chess in the process.

Was he playing with someone telepathically? How did he possibly resist the urge to cheat?

"Hello Mr. Smith, or perhaps I should call you Mr. Spicer, either way, please take a seat we have much to discuss." Xavier said levelly.

Oh, is that how Xavier wants to play it. Well Jack refused to be ruffled.

"Just Jack is fine, keeps the whole dual identity thing easy to keep straight." Jack admitted easily.

"Let me tell you Charles, can I call you Charles? I am a big fan of what you're doing here. Too many people get their hands on a little bit of power and the first thing they do is pick a fight. A man of your talents could have had a good shot at overthrowing the government and probably gotten a bullet to the head for their troubles, but not you. You have a very impressive thing you've built here, and I am very impressed." Jack flattered.

Xavier looked slightly bemused at the enthusiastic greeting and smiled slightly.

"Well I am pleased you recognize the importance of the responsible use of power Jack. That is one of the main reasons I started this school, to prevent young mutants who suddenly find themselves rejected by society from turning their gifts to pick fights, as you say." Xavier spoke with a calm authority. "Thus, I must question the wisdom in Wanda rejoining the general population. I know she was in no condition to be out of the asylum when you abducted her. I would of course love for Wanda to be free, but her anger issues alone would be enough to keep her away from other people even ignoring the dangerous and unpredictable nature of her abilities."

The professor kept his face neutral as he condemned his patient.

"You are absolutely right." Jack admitted easily. "When Wanda was completely legally discharged from the asylum she was in no condition to be around other people, but time has passed since then and she has made a rather remarkable recovery. Of course, she is still suffering from the trauma of being imprisoned for something she couldn't control for the majority of her life, and I think you want to help her as much as I want you to help her." Jack smiled confidently.

"Jack, as true as that may be I am afraid the situation has aspects to it you don't fully appreciate." The professor frowned.

Jack felt a twinge of nervousness.

"I will meet with Wanda for her first session as soon as possible, I don't believe you had truly bad intentions when you released Wanda, but in doing so you made yourself a target to a rather powerful man." Xavier folded his hands in front of his face in the traditional mastermind pose.

"Your talking about her father, Eric Lehnsherr." Jack stated.

The professor nodded sharply confirming Jack's suspicions.

Despite Phil's best efforts tracking down information, everything Jack knew about Eric he had learned from Wanda. The man was apparently a leader in the mutant community and had magnet powers. That was everything he knew for sure. His powerset was annoying as Jack wouldn't be able to throw robots at him until he went away, but he was confident he could come up with something.

"Is he truly that dangerous? Wanda is safe and happy, why would he attack me?" Jack asked.

Xavier sighed and rubbed his temples in resignation.

"That could make him more lenient than he might otherwise be, but the real problem is you stole from him. Eric is not the most forgiving man and he holds no love for non-mutants. It is only a matter of time before he comes for you and he is unlikely to spare you." Xavier gravely informed him.

Aw, Charles was worried about his safety, what a swell guy.

Jack smiled widely, he had gotten what he wanted from the conversation. Wanda had her appointment and he had made a good first impression with one of the leaders of the mutant community, having another supervillain after his head was just par for the course.

Jack reached into his pocket to give Xavier one of his phones, but the man reached into his own pocket and retrieved one of his own.

"A fascinating device. You are truly a skilled inventor, it would be a shame if you died so young. Take care, Jack." Xavier said neutrally.

Jack's grin became a little brighter, Xavier was a customer neat.

He shook the man's hand before heading for the door.

"No need to worry about me, I am fairly difficult to kill, goodbye Charles, it was an enlightening conversation."

He wasn't surprised that Xavier knew more about him than he should have. It would be a nightmare trying to keep secrets from a man like Xavier, so his best bet was not to bother with them.

As he left the compound the way he came Jack's thoughts were filled with ways to counter someone who controlled metal.

* * *

A figure in red armor floated above a custom-built bronze car before crumpling the vehicle in a casual display of power.

His subordinate had come through with the identity of his daughter's captor.

Jacob Smith was the man who had taken Wanda from her cell and it was time to show the pathetic human that no one touches what belonged to Magneto.

He watched his unsuspecting target run to investigate the noise of his vehicle being destroyed.


	31. Chapter 31

Ah, this wasn't good.

Jack glimpsed the twisted husk what had been one of his better cars this morning, before he locked his eyes on the armored fellow floating above it.

This must be Wanda's father, Eric Lehnsherr. He could sympathize with her about not liking the man.

A thought occurred to Jack as he ran towards what had been his car.

There was absolutely no good reason to be heading towards the dangerous mutant who hated him. Jack turned to flee intending to use his cloaking device to vanish only for him to feel the contours of his overcoat stiffening around him.

Jack didn't hesitate to slip from the confines of his coat ditching the traitorous apparel in a movement that required flexibility that made him appear boneless for a moment.

"You cannot escape from me human." Magneto boomed.

Wow, this guy was intimidating, and he had such a great voice for melodrama, he really knew how to project properly. Some villains started talking and you had to strain to hear them from the other side of the room, but this magnet guy really spoke from the diaphragm.

Jack ignored those thoughts as he considered his options. He had been separated from not just his coat but his flight pack and cloaking device along with the vast majority of his arsenal.

Crud.

Alright don't panic, what did he know about Eric?

The man was a leader amongst the mutant community and he apparently didn't like humans. Jack could work with that.

With a barely formed plan developed Jack spun to face his attacker.

"Hello fellow mutant. What can I do for you today?" Jack practically shouted.

Jack could feel the metal of his hat tightening around his scalp as he struggled to hold a smile.

He had to ditch the rest of the metal on his body quickly.

He was currently wearing a red button up shirt, white gloves, black pants and dress shoes which had no metal in them. Unfortunately, both his hat and the ring of the nine dragons had metal that could be used against him.

He would vanish and rejoin his doppelganger if he took off the ring which was good as an escape but doing so would mean he would lose his hat and the changing chopsticks which were in a pocket of his coat.

He did not want to lose his hat.

"You claim to be a mutant Mr. Smith?" A voice came from behind him.

He had been a bit distracted by the threat of Magneto but how could he have failed to notice the bright blue woman with hair as red as his who had managed to sneak up right behind him.

"How terribly convenient for you to suddenly discover your heritage, mon ami." Said a man with a Cajun accent.

Another one appeared, this time a man in brown trench coat with pink glowing pupils set in black eyes. Jack was surrounded.

Well there went his idea of charging forward and punching Eric in the face. He really needed to work on his situational awareness.

Jack was tempted to defend his claim of mutanthood, he could do a pretty good impression of powers by using the ring of the nine dragons, but he knew that when convincing someone you needed to stay on the offensive. It was a trick that kept the other party from taking control of the conversation.

"So, what are you fine folks doing today? Paying a visit to Xavier for tea or something?" Jack asked in his best innocent voice, ignoring the accusation and the mortal peril.

"You know what you did Mr. Smith. Did you think you could get away with taking Wanda?" Magneto demanded.

Jack mentally grinned.

"Ah, so it was you!" Jack shouted accusingly. "You were the one who imprisoned poor miss Maximoff since she was a young child for the crime of being a mutant, well I won't surrender to the likes of you. Do your worst but I will never let you get your hands on her again, monster." Jack pointed dramatically at the helmeted man.

He was really getting into it. If he could plant a seed of doubt maybe he could actually talk his way out of this.

"Fool. Your antics convince no one. I, Magneto, am the protector of mutantkind and I know your type well, scientist. You would experiment on innocent mutants to satisfy your twisted curiosity, now tell me what you have done with my daughter." Magneto threatened.

Well he wasn't exactly wrong, Jack had originally gone after Wanda to see if he could use her to power his magic, which was an experiment on an innocent, not that Jack would be admitting that anytime soon.

Still, Jack had the man talking, that was good, now he just had to convince Eric not to squish his head.

"Oh, you're Eric Lehnsherr, Wanda's Dad. So, I was right, it was you who threw her into the asylum for the crime of having power. She is pretty peeved at you sir. Why, I just got back from a meeting with Professor Xavier scheduling some therapy sessions for her anger issues, she starts tomorrow by the way, seeing you probably wouldn't be the best for her mental health at the moment. Maybe, you should wait for her to work on her issues in a controlled setting before you try to reconnect with her." Jack recommended faux seriously.

He was switching tones quickly trying to keep the other man on the backfoot, first he spoke in a friendly manner, then accusing, and now advising like he was a teacher informing a father how their child was doing at school.

"You speak in ignorance, fool. I never abandoned my child for a single moment. Waiting and watching until she developed the strength to control the magnificent power she inherited from my blood and return to her rightful place at my side. Her suffering and hardships will only serve to sharpen her strength just as mine did for me. So, do not speak as if you know my mind, you who claim to be a mutant will return to me what is mine." Magneto pontificated.

Wow, he was really good at giving villainous monologues. Jack could almost believe that the man had tossed his daughter into a tiny hole to rot for her own good.

"You are absolutely right sir, I will take you too her right now." Jack said quickly.

Magneto nodded slightly in accent.

It was very hard to keep threatening people when they were completely compliant. You could do it, but it felt rather pointless.

Jack knew from experience.

Scooping up his overcoat, which had crumpled to the ground after he had slipped out of it, Jack threw the garment on, feeling the adaptive metal fall back into place. Jack activated his flight pack levitating off the ground as he began to make the trip home.

"Follow me, it is about an hour's flight west of here." Jack called out.

Another member of the group emerged from wherever he was hiding, raising the number of people following Jack to four. The man was bald with four green lines tattooed across his scalp spreading from a ring in middle of his forehead.

The blue woman transformed into a hawk and the two men were raised into the air under the power of Magneto.

"Don't even think of trying anything funny Mr. Smith." Magneto spoke severely. "Or you may find you can't live with the consequences."

As he spoke Jack felt his hat lift slightly off his head before it was flattened into a disk clipping some of his hair off in a demonstration of how easily Eric could kill him.

"Understood." Magneto demanded.

Jack felt his entire body freeze as the portal to his pocket dimension was destroyed in order to make a simple threat.

Magneto must have taken the sudden tensing of Jack's body as fear and he seemed satisfied.

"Understood." Jack gritted out through clenched teeth.

It wasn't fear Jack felt at that moment.

As the shock drained away all Jack felt was cold fury.

"We had better get moving if we want to make it home in time for dinner." Jack said while giving a friendly smile towards the object of his hatred.

Wanda would be getting her chance to take revenge on her father.

* * *

Vincent allowed Magneto to levitate him and Gambit behind the person known as Jacob Smith. He suspected the man was lying about more than just his name, but it wasn't his job to care about that. Mystique had no metal on her person and preferred to fly under her own power anyway, so it was only the two who Magneto had to carry.

It was an interesting surprise that Smith could fly under his own power, perhaps he truly was a mutant?

Even if he was, whatever his mutation was didn't protect him from Vincent's influences. As a mutant he was known as Mesmero and he had the ability to hypnotize his victims into believing anything he wanted. For more complicated things he would need time alone with his victims but for something as simple as convincing Smith to take them to Wanda all he needed was a little nudge from Vincent's power when Magneto demanded he take them to his daughter.

Sure enough, now Smith was taking them where they wanted to go believing it was all his idea.

What Smith had said about Wanda hating her father was true, in fact that was the very reason Magneto had requested Vincent come along. It was his job to make Wanda forget all about her daddy issues and be a good little soldier for Lehnsherr's quest to put mutants at the top of the food chain.

The idea was laughable really, after all the top of the food chain was reserved for Vincent's true master, not some arrogant mutants who thought they were great because they got a tiny taste of power. For now, it was too soon to think of such things, he would play along and do what he was told by the Eric. He still had bills to pay after all, and besides, it was not like the work wasn't satisfying.

He smiled.

Brainwashing kids was always fun.


	32. Chapter 32

This wasn't the best plan.

Leading a man who had absolute control over metal to his factory, which was filled with very valuable and delicate equipment, was not the brightest move.

He should remove the Ring of the Nine Dragons, allowing his essence to escape and rejoin his double. He could call Phil from the land of nowhere, where the other Jack was working on the Gaia security system, and organize a counterstrike before the group of villains got to the factory.

As his fingers brushed the ring a twinge of doubt stopped him. _Take Magneto To Wanda._

If he took off the ring he would lose his coat, which contained the irreplaceable chopsticks not to mention all the goodies he kept in his pockets.

He shook his head dismissing the thought.

Nothing he had on him was worth his enemies storming his base and destroying his factory.

Jack reached for the ring again only to once more feel the twinge of doubt stopping him. _Take Magneto To Wanda._

Surely, his defenses could stop these four. Wanda and Wuya were an incredibly potent fighting force and Amora even without her magic had her alien physiology that made her a strong opponent. If they could take down Magneto, then his factory's defenses could handle the other three.

Wait, he shook his head at the thought, that wasn't quite right. The witches and Phil had no idea he was coming and would be caught off guard by the assault, and he had no idea what the three other mutants who served Magneto were capable of, it was foolish to underestimate them.

He should escape.

Once more, he reconsidered just as his fingers brushed the ring, he really should _Take Magneto To Wanda._

Why?

Was he trying to get rid of Wanda?

It was true Wanda was a dangerous element that he didn't have full control of, if he handed her off to Magneto that would be the end of his problems regarding the girl, perhaps the two would do him a favor and destroy each other.

Wait, that wasn't quite right either, he had been putting a considerable amount of effort to making Wanda into an asset, it would be such a waste to get rid of her now.

His fingers froze as they gripped the ring.

He just had to remove the magical artifact from his finger and everything would be okay.

His knuckles whitened as they tightened painfully around the tiny metal circlet.

All he had to do was pull off the ring.

Ah, but if he activated the emergency function on the phone in his pocket it would call Phil, then his mechanical assistant could listen in on anything he said, tipping him off that enemies were coming. This would allow his allies to be prepared for the inevitable assault. Phil would come up with something.

His grip on the ring slacked, he didn't need to pull it off now that he had a proper plan, and besides, he needed to take Magneto to Wanda.

Jack dismissed the sensation of failure and weakness that momentarily flooded through him.

He had work to do if he wanted Phil to know what was going on. Jack would need to have a conversation with Magneto.

After covertly activating the emergency contact on his phone, Jack floated back to keep pace next to the leader of the mutant force.

"So, Eric, I only have the barest idea of who you are. I heard from Wanda that you were something of a figure in the mutant community but what exactly are you trying to accomplish. Are you in this for wealth?"

Jack stared hard at the mutant as he secretly informed Phil of the situation, noticing a grimace of distaste on Magneto's face.

"Prestige?"

The mutant leader deigned to meet Jack's inquiring eyes.

"An army of superhumans?"

Eric seemed to scoff at the mere thought.

"What do you want?" Jack asked genuinely curious now.

Eric Lehnsherr looked down at Jack for a moment before he sighed.

"I do not have such base pursuits Mr. Smith, my only goal is to defend my people from the rampant predations of their lessers. Once years ago, I stood side by side with Charles against those who would see mutantkind fall. We failed only because of our inner disunity. The results were terrible. After first hypocritically declaring to be fighting only against myself and those loyal to me, our enemies began the systematic destruction of an entire generation of mutants, after my team had already surrendered, wiping even the general awareness of mutants from public knowledge. Now, years later a new generation rises, ready to be guided by the survivors of the last. Preparing for the rebirth of my dream of a world where mutants need not fear their inferiors." Eric passionately intoned.

The man seemed to have lost himself in his words seeming to see right through Jack.

"This new revival of our people is no threat to humanity. Nonetheless the governments of the world are already renewing their hateful policy of destruction and enslavement against mutants. Systematically eliminating or enslaving newly emerged mutants both at home and abroad, we once faced the plot of those in power who fear their superiors and now again we stand against the evils of this world who all share the same goal: to prevent the establishment of a new mutant state, to plunge my people once more into irrelevance and death."

Magneto paused there, refocusing on the recipient of his speech and sniffing derisively.

"Wait, wait, wait. Someone is going around murdering all the kids who activate the x-gene? Who?" Jack sputtered at the outrageous claim.

"The enemies of mutantkind are many and when one mongrel falls they are immediately replaced by the next. One more naïve than I would have us foolishly pursue peace with those who would kill us but the past has shown us that as long as humanity remains in power there will always be another who would destroy us. All of humanity is a threat, but the name of the one who currently leads the charge in the eradication of my people is a man name Stryker. He is ultimately an insignificant worm easily replaced by a dozen more just like him. The only viable option is to band together as one against our oppressors and take our place as dominant people on earth." Magneto forcefully stated.

Jack couldn't agree with Eric's brand of thinking. Of course, everyone was a potential enemy, but everyone was also a potential ally. If you treated the world as your enemy it would return the favor and in Jack's experience the world always won. Magneto's method would call for all mutants to be enemies of the entire population of Earth, and surely not all mutants had the sheer offensive power of Eric to fight that war. The poor guy who developed the power to glow purple would also be labeled as an enemy of mankind and be killed as if he was just as much of a threat as someone like Magneto.

This didn't make any sense.

The mutants had people like Charles Xavier who had infiltrated many levels of the government and set himself up as a person of high standing. Xavier had the power to shape the political landscape to his liking and yet, according to Eric, the situation was grim.

Was that exactly how Charles Xavier liked it?

How did a dangerously charismatic and powerful individual like Magneto exist when the general public didn't even know mutants existed.

"Surely if the public knew that mutants were just like everyone else, only with powers, they would be more accepting." Jack posited.

Magneto chuckled at the words and his grim demeanor hardened.

"Ah the naivety of youth, time has shown the folly of such sentimental optimism." Eric said without heat.

"No, it could work." Jack insisted. "Of course, it would require a good P.R. team and an extensive rebranding. The term mutant should be changed of course, something not so immediately derogatory is needed. Then a thorough identification of those in power who would oppose a pro-mutant message so that they could be marginalized or silenced as necessary. Strong political allies would be required but that's always true when setting policy. Also, an in with a popular media outlet is needed so that a publicity campaign linking the development of superpowers with some of the more positive examples of powered individuals could be made. Instead of the fear of your child has turning into a mutant, it should be something like, your child could be the next Captain America." Jack said thoughtfully.

Magneto considered Jack thoughtfully as he spoke.

"How old are you?" The armored man inquired.

"Eighteen." Jack answered before remembering that he was supposedly in disguise.

Jack was usually a bit sharper than this, but he his thoughts were coming just a tiny fraction slower than they should, something was off in his head. Jack would have to compare himself to his double to see what the problem was after this was over.

"So young. So full of hope. No, it is impossible to achieve what you describe. Fighting in the political arena only opens yourself to more direct reprisals. Charles has been trying for years to make a spot for mutants in the world as it is and even with all his talents he has achieved little in the way of concrete advancement for mutantkind. Besides, why should we fight in the arena of our inferiors when we have this power and they don't? Power is the true deciding factor of who will emerge victorious in the end, Mr. Smith." Magneto explained as if teaching a child.

Jack frowned in thought. Eric had a dangerous and compelling rhetoric that Jack could see drawing in many young disenfranchised mutants to his cause. He also was unwilling to even entertain the notion of a peaceful resolution.

A thought crystalized in Jack's mind as he considered the man flying at his side.

Eric was insane.

Not the typical egomaniacal madness that went hand in hand with villainy but a deep twisted wrongness that would destroy everything the man deemed lesser than himself.

Which was most of humanity, including Jack.

How many mutants followed Magneto now?

How many mutants were out there and how many of them had a power comparable to one like Eric's? Jack had only met a handful of mutants but all of them had been insanely powerful.

Eric, Charles, Ororo, Wanda even Mrs. King had a potentially potent ability.

Were all mutants like those five?

No, it couldn't be.

Could it?

What were the other three in Eric's group capable of?

The trench coat wearing man and the bald guy were complete mysteries and he didn't know the extent of the shapeshifter's abilities, but Jack suspected all three were dangerous.

How many mutants were there?

According to Xavier's studies one in two hundred people had the ability to activate the x-gene when experiencing periods of high hormonal activity.

With a global population of seven billion that roughly meant a potential 36 million mutants.

Holy.

What could Eric accomplish with that number of superhumans supporting him?

What could Jack do?

His thoughts came to a screeching halt as the group approached his factory.

There, moving out to meet them, were two figures one was a young woman wearing a blood red hooded overcoat and the other was a familiar bronze skinned witch wearing a black dress tied with a golden sash.

Jack smoothly transitioned from flying to walking as he led Magneto to Wanda.

"Time to put your lessons into practice, my dear apprentice." Wuya said with a shark like smile.

"Heylin 101, disposing of your inferiors, begin."


End file.
